Burns As The Phoenix: Book The Second
by Skyelah
Summary: Sequel to Burns As The Phoenix: Book The First. "19 years later. An evil new power is rising up against the Wizarding World. A new prophecy is spoken, and the fate of the magical community rests in the hands of the One Who Burns as the Phoenix."
1. The Figure In The Mist

**And now... Another prologue!**

**Haha! I have a prologue addiction!**

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The wind blew in frigid gusts that were too cold for late summer; so cold that anything the wind came into contact with burned with an icy fire. The wind whipped around trees and stumps and over hills so strong that it should have been howling . . . but everything was silent. The forest was deathly quiet. Small animals quivered in their holes and behind bushes, sense paralyzed with fear and ears pricked, alert to the soft hissing of leaves brushing against each other, as the sinister presence moved through the trees.

The acrid smell of sulfur and rotting flesh filled the air as a putrid cloud of mist, blacker than the night itself, seeped up from and across the ground, creeping forward with long tendrils that mimicked fingers as they reached across the ground, cold and foul. The smog thickened and condensed, rolling up and back until the form of a human figure shaped itself from the blackness and breathed in the noxious cloud.

The figure strode forward, its cloak a whisper on the ground, as the tree line drew parallel. The massive trunks, thicker than any man and reaching higher than any tower, coupled with the foul mist, concealed the figure from view. In the blackness surrounding above and ahead of the mysterious figure, shrouded with mist, the only point of light shone dimly in the distance. The small flickering, wavering light illuminating a room in the highest tower.

"Yessssssss," the figure hissed, a coarse and deep rasp that rose from the creeping mist. The choking blackness enveloped the figure, settling in spaces beneath the cloak that served as eyes and a nose and a mouth, seeping into the figure at every orifice. The smoke dissipated, and the figure with it, returning to the creeping tendrils that slipped back in to the thick cover of the trees. It would stay there, and it would wait. Endlessly, if need be. Waiting for the One.

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_Miles away, Grapelle shivered in to awareness, gasping frantically for breath, for life, for an escape from the choking fog that seemed to have entered into her mind, choking her with tendrils like hands, wrapping her within the endless darkness. Her eyes, blinking furiously, took in the orphanage dormitory around her, and she settled back beneath her covers, heart pounding. It was only a dream, she thought. Or rather, she hoped._

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**Prologue addiction is a real disease, people. But together, we can find a cure! **

**Reviews?**


	2. Strange Melodies

_Guess who's back!_

_Did you guys know that I love you? And that I'm sorry for being so evil?  
Well, I love you, and I'm sorry for being evil. :P_

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Summer was the most tedious two months of Pepper's existence. She spent every day, lying in bed, wishing she were anywhere but home. She dreamed of Hogwarts every night, of the Lake, the mountains, the twisting passageways of the old castle, the cozy Gryffindor common room, even the feeling of sinking into her four-poster bed every night. She missed practicing her witchcraft, and brewing potions, and hexing Slytherins when their backs were turned. Most of all, she missed her friends. Albus, Sacha and Rose, at least, were frequent correspondents, but Pepper hadn't heard from Grape, Mikaela or Cameron since they had said goodbye at Kings Cross Station at the end of the school year.

While Pepper's fellow students had run in to the waiting arms of family and friends after stepping off the Hogwarts Express, Pepper had been met with the sullen face of the family maid just outside the platform, who had seized Pepper and immediately pushed her through the crowd, and in to the waiting taxi that idled on the sidewalk, waiting. It was as if she had wanted to get Pepper away from the 'dangerous', magical folk as quickly as possible.

Pepper's father hadn't been home when Pepper returned, and she hadn't seen very much of him at all in the two months since the end of the school year. He was constantly working, or having business meetings, or going to dinners with family friends. Every so often, he would crack Pepper's door open, to check up on her. Every time, his voice cracked and squeaked as he stammered reluctant greetings, and he flinched every time she moved. He was terrified of her. Pepper was glad. It would have been worse if he faked being nice to her, if he pretended that he could still love her, even after the lie he had made out of her life.

Pepper squeezed the familiar red ball between her fingers. Besides her, lying open with its spine to the ceiling, was her Standard Book Of Spells, Grade One textbook. The pages were bent and worn, in places the corners had been turned down to mark a particularly interesting spell. She had been practicing spells within the confines of her room, sometimes staying up late into the night to perfect a spell. Pepper's wand had a special place of honour on her bedside table, its wood warm from constant use. Pepper knew she could be expelled from Hogwarts for doing magic, but she didn't care. As long as the maids or her father didn't walk in on her practicing witchcraft, she figured she was safe.

At that moment, Pepper was feeling angry, bored, depressed, and unhappy in general. Her father had paid one of his visits to her just that morning and it had left her feeling empty. She had been working her way through the 'Lumos' charm, and she was trying to extend the period of time she could keep her wand lit. Pepper's father had poked his head in while the wand was sill in Pepper's hand, and his face had blanched to the colour of oatmeal at the sight of his daughter, armed with a magical weapon. His feet had carried him back down the stairs faster than Pepper could have explained.

Squeezing the stress ball, Pepper grunted in discontentment. _Serves him right, _she thought. _Kept it secret from me all these years, now he just has to learn to deal with it. _Several times, Pepper had contemplated turning her father into a toad or a small rodent of some kind. But she knew that there was no way she would be able to return to Hogwarts if she did. And returning to Hogwarts was what Pepper wanted more than anything.

The ruby charm, nestled in the hollow of Pepper's throat, sparked and burned quietly to the rhythm of Pepper's angry thoughts. It fumed when she did, it burned with sorrowful fire when she cried, and it missed the magical world as much as Pepper did. On a daily basis, Pepper felt the strong desire to burn, to let the flames lick her skin and purge the darkness away from her heart. But she wouldn't. She couldn't, not until she could control it. So the fire burned within her, a slumbering monster, waiting endlessly and impatiently to be let out. Pepper shivered at the thought.

Pepper closed her eyes, and the light from her ceiling shone through her closed lids, tingeing her black solitude with a bloody red. The house was quiet - it was well after 7pm, so the maids and other house staff had left for the day. Pepper's father was likely holed up in his office, eating his dinner in front of the computer screen while he e-mailed his bosses, and his boss's bosses, and everyone who came in between. He would turn out his lights sometime after 11om, and Pepper would be free to sneak down in to the kitchen, and grab her provisions for the next day. It had been that way all summer, so that they would have to see each other as little as possible. Thank goodness Pepper's room had an attached bathroom.

Then suddenly, there was music. It soared through Pepper's ears, playing notes across her mind that were both impossibly high and low, weaving a strange melody of incomprehensible beauty. The symphony of sound felt as though it came from Pepper's own heart. If it had been colour, it would have been a deep, shining and pure gold, weaving like liquid and streaming over Pepper's entire being. It felt like summer, it smelled like spring, tasted like ice cream on a hot day, and it sounded like magic. It was wonderful.

The music struck a new chord in Pepper's soul, and a sudden longing and excitement, and a curiosity swept over her, embodied by the melody. Pepper felt herself rising to her feet, and she danced gracefully across the room to the window. The pane slid upwards, and the beautiful sound grew louder. It came not from Pepper's soul, but from something that drew nearer with every note. Pepper stepped back from the window, and a shining, glistening light burst in flames in front of her, a pillar of fire on her window sill. The heatless, smokeless fire dimmed, and it took Pepper a moment to realize that the fire had disappeared, leaving the creature in its place.

The bird had the most magnificent plumage, shining and pristine. The tail feathers were impossibly long, hanging out of the window several feet. They were a deep, burning scarlet, and they shone with the same fire as Pepper's ruby. The body was of the same scarlet, as well as burnished gold and blazing orange feathers. Here and there, feather like white flames appeared so hot that they would burn the touch. Atop the birds head - Pepper felt strange calling the creature a bird, when it was clearly so much more- were elongated feather of scarlet and sapphire blue, some falling behind the bird's head, others gracing the sharp, golden beak and partially covering the creature's liquid black, intelligent eyes. Those eyes blinked sentiently at Pepper, and she saw a deep recognition behind them.

Cautiously, Pepper stretched a hand towards the magnificent phoenix, for she now realized that was what the bird was. Her fingers reached timidly, but the phoenix did not flinch or shy away from her hand. It spread its wings, all three foot span of them, and flapped once, rising into the air slightly before gliding gracefully down to the ground at Pepper's feet. She knelt slowly, not wanting to startle it, her hand still outstretched, but the phoenix stayed still. Emboldened suddenly, Pepper leaped across the last few centimeters to lightly touch the beak of the phoenix.

Pain, a bright and searing heat, flared up her arm and into her heart. Pepper cried out silently, and whipped her hand back to cradle it against her chest. The pain rose in her chest, into her throat, so Pepper thought she might choke on it. The ruby burned with a gentle fire, however, and the heat was drawn out of her. It was gone as quickly as it had come, though Pepper felt a strange tingling sensation in the hollow of her throat beneath the ruby charm. Pepper prodded the area and shivered as her finger, seemingly so cold, made contact with the burned flesh. Looking down at her hand, Pepper saw that the tips had been burned red.

"Ouch," she murmured. She felt a twinge of concern, not her own, and Pepper raised her head to meet the intelligent eyes of the phoenix. He - Pepper knew it was a he - was searching her face, and at the corner of each beady black eye, a tear glistened. Pepper felt the twinge of concern again, riding on a shining golden cord that seemed to stretch from her mind to his like a bar of music across a page. The phoenix leaned his head forward, and a single tear fell on to Pepper's sore fingers. Instantly, the throbbing vanished, replaced with a cool, soothing feeling. the redness faded away.

"Thank you," Pepper whispered. The phoenix cocked his head, and across the golden thread, Pepper felt something akin to a mental eye roll. Pepper laughed, and the phoenix let out a single, joyous musical note, their laughter combining into a perfect harmony that hung in the air around them. Pepper felt the phoenix next to her, every feather, every movement, and every emotion that flitted across the ancient and most musical mind. She felt a strong connection to the creature, a feeling like having a sibling. Pepper gasped. "Are you mine?"

Another mental eye roll, but with it, a strong sense of conviction and contentment that let Pepper know that she was right in calling the phoenix hers. "Well," she said, surprising herself with the calm evenness of her tone. Inside, she was bursting with excitement at the thought of having a phoenix of her own, a deeply magical and powerful creature to share a special bond with. "If you're my phoenix, you need a name." The phoenix blinked his understanding. "How about Fegan?" Across the golden cord, Pepper felt a deep satisfaction as she uttered Fegan's name for the first time.

Fegan cooed, a warbling note that wavered happily in Pepper's ears. "Fegan it is," she said, tasting the name on her tongue. It tasted like coals in her mouth, warm and bitter and sweet all at the same time. She stretched a hand towards Fegan, and he slid his head forward to meet her fingertips. His head rubbed enthusiastically against her hand, and Pepper imagined him purring like a cat in contentment. She smiled, the first real smile that had crossed her face in the months since vacation had started.

"Pepper!" Pepper flinched, but before she could slip Fegan into her closet or the bathroom, her father stuck his head in her doorway. "If you'd like to join me for supper, I...' his voice faltered, then trailed off as he took in the sight of Pepper sitting on the floor, an enormous fiery bird practically in her lap. "Oh my," he whispered, and his eyes widened, his face purpling to a violent shade of raspberry. Pepper opened her mouth to explain, but her father shook his head furiously, and ducked out of the room. She heard his footsteps and he barreled down the stairs, cursing the whole way, and the resounding thud as his office door slammed shut.

"Crap," Pepper said, and she cussed under breath. She pulled her hand away from Fegan's head and rose swiftly to her feet. Fegan opened his beak in protest. _Come on, _Pepper thought, using the golden thread to project her thoughts. From Fegan she felt a disgruntled reply, and with another beating of his powerful wings, he rose up and landed on her outstretched arms, his talons enclosing her entire forearm. With her new friend perched on her arm, Pepper hurried out the door and down the stairs to reason with her father.

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_Worth the wait? Let me know!_


	3. Bittersweet Goodbye

_You guys are awesome! Like, seriously. Reading your reviews makes me so very, very happy!_

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Pepper could hear the sounds of pots and pans clattering together in the kitchen even before she had made it to the ground floor. That wasn't a good sign. Pepper's father was a horrid cook, and he only ever forgot that fact when he was in extreme freak out mode. Then he would boil and bake random ingredients into an inedible mush while he tried to get his cool back. Pepper could recall one night, after she had broken the living room window, being forced to eat something resembling spaghetti mixed with hazardous nuclear wastes.

Pepper turned into the gleaming silver kitchen. The mahogany cupboards had all been flung open, their contents spilling carelessly onto the marbled counter tops. The fridge door was flung open, and Pepper glimpsed her father's legs peeking out, trembling as he threw random vegetables onto the counter behind him. She could hear him muttering under his breath, a combination of sobbed exclamations and a few rather imaginative curse words.

"Dad, please-" Pepper started to speak, but the fridge door slammed shut, and her father whirled around to face her. He shuddered when he saw Fegan perched on her arm, stretching his graceful feathered neck towards the food piled on the counter.

"What is that thing?" he asked. His eyes were enormous, wary, and his nose was wrinkled in an expression of distaste. Pepper could feel resentment rolling through the golden connection between herself and the phoenix, and a twinge of hurt at being called a 'thing'. Fantastic. Her father was insanely angry, and her new pet phoenix had an ego. Just her luck.

"Dad, this is Fegan," Pepper explained.

"You're not allowed to have pets, let alone a creature like _that_," her father hissed. Fegan screeched indignantly.

"Dad, Fegan isn't a creature. He's a phoenix," Pepper said calmly. Her father's breathing was slowing now, his face returning to its usual colour. He was not totally calmed down, thought. His fingers twitched randomly as he grabbed a thick cleaving knife off of the counter and reached for the nearest fresh produce - celery. His eyes never left hers as he chopped, leaving Pepper afraid that he might accidentally remove one or two of his fingers. "Dad, will you please put the knife down?"

Her father sighed, and the knife clattered against marble. Pepper stepped forward quickly and slid the knife into her own hand. She ignored the fact that her father flinched backwards as she approached, and cringed when her fingers met the knife. She placed the cleaver back into the knife rack behind her, then raised her hands, palms open, towards him. "Dad, can we talk about this?"

"Fine," her father nodded. Pepper inclined her head towards the dining table - mahogany to match the cupboards - and her father sat down in the nearest chair. Pepper remained standing, pacing slightly as she spoke.

"Dad, I've been home for almost two months now," Pepper began coolly. "We really should be able to talk about this by now."

"I don't know what you're talking about." her father harrumphed, in his most stubborn, argumentative tone. Pepper wanted to groan in exasperation, but she could understand his reaction. It was only in times like this, when her father showed his unrelenting, stubborn nature, that Pepper believed they were truly related.

"Dad, you lied to me for the majority of my life. You knew I was a witch -" her father cringed again," - but you never told me. I can understand that you may not like the idea, but I think that I at least have the right to know why." Her father was staring at Pepper incredulously, like her could hardly believe her nerve at demanding such a thing from him. Pepper decided to switch tactics. "Daddy, please. Talk to me," she said, adopting the tone of voice that she had rarely used since she had been a little girl.

Her father sighed. "I didn't know your mother was a witch. Not until after you were born, at least." he admitted. "It was dangerous to have her around," he insisted, staring at Pepper in earnest. "I had to leave her, to protect myself, to protect you! I swore you would always be safe from that, that you would never have to deal with that sort of power. It too dangerous. No normal person should be able to do the things your mother could do..."

Pepper had known her mother, being a Pyramus, was a powerful witch, but she was curious. "What sorts of things did she do, daddy?" she asked. Her father flinched, shaking his head vigorously. Pepper sighed. Fegan fluttered down from Pepper's shoulder to perch on the back of one of the chairs, heaving a musical sigh of his one as he did. His long talons enclosed around the chair back, and Pepper's father's expression twisted with disgust once more.

"Careful! That is mahogany!"

Fegan opened his beak and hissed in a pure tenor. Pepper's father blanched. _Cut it out! _Pepper thought furiously across the golden thread. Fegan cocked his head back towards her, and Pepper thought he gave her a real roll of his liquid black eyes to accompany the mental picture of one that she received. Pepper turned back to her father. "Dad," she started timidly. "You may not like it, but the magic is part of who I am now. It_ is_me. I can't explain it, any more than I can change it. What I want to know is if you can be okay with that."

Silence fell in the gleaming kitchen. Pepper searched her father's pale face with a sad urgency. What she desperately wanted was for him to cross the space between them, hold her in his arms, and tell her that everything would be okay, just as he had whenever she had a nightmare when she was a toddler. He didn't do that. Pepper watched as his face dawned with an unexpected hope, but fell just as quickly, into a mask of sadness that could not quite hide his expression of revulsion as her looked at her. Her father shook his head.

"No." he said. "I can't."

Pepper felt tears stinging her eyes, threatening to roll onto the polished wood floor. She refused to let them fall, however. "Okay then," she said, sounding much calmer than she felt. "If that';s the way you feel, I can't stay here any longer." Pepper cast her thought around wildly, thinking of Albus, or Sacha; any one who she could trust and who would allow her to stay with them. Her mind settled on an image of Professor Longbottom's kind and smiling face. "I'll be at the Leaky Cauldron, in London. If you ever want to contact me before the term starts." Pepper knew her father wouldn't write.

Pepper turned and ran out of the kitchen quickly. One tear escaped her eye, wetting her cheek, and soon, the rest followed in a torrential flood that she could not abate any longer. Heavy sobs ripped through her chest. Pepper felt a slight pressure on her arm, and when she blinked away the tears, she saw Fegan sitting there, perched with his head level to hers. She felt concern emanating from him and he shook his beautiful gold and scarlet plumage at her. Pepper smiled. ""I'm okay," she said, more so trying to convince herself than she was him.

In her room, Pepper spun about like a furious tornado, tossing books and jeans and robes into her cauldron and her open trunk. Her wand she slipped into her back pocket, and she pulled on a thick woolen jacket. It was cold out that night. Pepper sat on thew lid of her trunk, letting out an involuntary grunt as she forced it closed. Fegan flew just ahead of her as she hauled her luggage down the stairs to the front foyer.

Pepper's father stood waiting for her at the bottom, his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his waistcoat. Fegan breezed right past him, setting into a perch on the window above the arched doorway of the manor home. Pepper thudded to a halt, her trunk crashing into the landing with all of its weight. Pepper's father looked rather uncomfortable as he watched his only child prepare to leave his home, at the very least until the next year, likely forever.

"Well," Pepper said awkwardly. "I guess this is goodbye." She knew her eyes were likely rimmed with red from crying so hard. She thrust out a hand to her father, intending to shake and leave as quickly as she possibly could. He surprised her by pulling her into a quick embrace, borrowing his face into her curly mane. Pepper felt the tears springing to life again; she couldn't remember the last time her father had hugged her.

"Goodbye, Pepper," he whispered fiercely. The he let go of her as abruptly as he had hugged her, and practically ran into his office. Pepper stood silently in the foyer until she heard the office door slam shut. The she whistled, a soft, low sound, and Fegan fluttered down from his perch to rest on her shoulder. She felt stronger with him sitting there, suddenly the trunk was a whole lot lighter. Pepper heaved it out of the door, down the driveway, onto the sidewalk. The entire neighborhood was as quiet as it was dark.

Pepper turned and glanced back at her former home. A single light was on in the downstairs; her father's office. Pepper thought she glimpsed her father peeking his head around the curtains, but then the light shifted slightly, and the mirage disappeared. The wind blew cold, and Pepper shivered, prompting Fegan to dig his talons into her to keep his balance.

'Sorry," she whispered to her companion. The lamplight beckoned at the end of the street, and Pepper hoisted her trunk once more as she strode towards it, leaving behind the only home she had ever known before Hogwarts, and the only family she had left to her.


	4. Riding The Knight Bus

_Okay, so maybe this chapter isn't the most original... Just moving the plot along here, though. It'll get better, I promise :P  
I do not apologize for the shameless Hunger Games reference in the last chapter. Really, it was just too good to pass up :P  
Love you guys, seriously. You're all awesome!  
Okay, I'll shut up now, so that you can read._

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It was colder than Pepper had anticipated that night. She wished she had remembered her warmer jacket. Not that she could have anticipated running away from home, but the chill in the air reminded her of the upcoming autumn. With autumn,Pepper knew, cam school, and the thought of returning to Hogwarts kept her trekking forward, even as the wind blew her curls about in frigid gusts.

At that time, the realization had yet to hit Pepper that she was now, in fact, homeless. She had no one to stay with, and she couldn't guarantee that Professor Longbottom would even want her to stay with him. Sure, he had taken her under his wing for the first year at Hogwarts, but she was older now. Perhaps he would expect her to be more self-sufficient. Pepper could be independent, and if she needed to she would pay her room and board, but what she really needed was comfort. Without a mother to turn to after an argument with her father, Pepper felt truly alone. She had no one.

The trunk suddenly lurched to the side, off of the sidewalk and on to the curb as its weight caused it to imbalance herself. Pepper cursed as the handle wrenched at her wrist and she let go before she fell over with her trunk. She was out of the light of the street lamps now, and she could only just make out the shape of her trunk lying sideways on the ground. Pepper bit her lip. Could she hazard a chance at magic?

_What do you think?, _she asked Fegan along the beautiful chord that stretched between their minds. In reply, she received a tone of indifference. What did Fegan care about breaking the Wizarding Law? He was a phoenix, he felt himself above such mundane principles. All humans were beneath him, excepting his Pepper, The One Who Burned.

Pepper blinked, startled as these emotions and thoughts were impressed onto the golden music of her mind. She stared at Fegan in surprise. "Did you just think all of that, or was that just me imagining it?" she asked, to no one in particular. If it were possible for a bird to look smug, Pepper imagined that would be the current expression on Fegan face. "All right, if you're not so concerned, then why should I be?"

Pepper cast a wary glance around her; the street was empty. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wand, feeling the warmth of the alder wood beneath her fingers. "Lumos," she whispered, and the wand tip flared with a soft, whit glow that illuminated everything around Pepper.

She could see her trunk lying on the ground, just off to the side of the road. It had rolled somewhat, so it was now several paces away. A sudden breeze picked up, and Pepper shuddered at the cold. She strode forward quickly to reclaim her trunk. . . and tripped over a knot of dirt. Pepper flung both hands forward to catch herself. She smacked her palms into the soil and then lowered her weight on to her stomach. Pressing her face into the sweet-smelling earth, Pepper heard the flutter of wigs as Fegan settled on to the ground next to her head. He crooned, and Pepper felt a musical laughter emanating from him. "Oh, shut up," she growled.

_**BANG!**_Pepper flung herself backwards at the sudden loud noise, and seemingly out of no where, a large three-story bus screeched into existence. It was violently purple, and the windows on each story were lit with a cozy light. The bus hissed as it halted, and the double doors swung open to reveal a grown woman, probably in her late thirties, with long brown hair that was going gray, and a sharp, beak-like nose that protruded sharply from her face. She was dressed in a uniform as purple as the bus, and her eyes stared boredly at nothing ahead of her while she gave her prepared speech.

"Good evenin', sir or madam. Welcome t' th' Knight Bus, 'mergency transport for any stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we'll take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Elaine Paxaro, and I'll be your conductor for th'evening," Elaine finished with a bit of a flourish. She blinked and her eyes refocused, taking in the lack of an audience before her. Pepper coughed, and Elaine lowered her eyes slowly to see Pepper, now kneeling, on the ground. "Wot th' bloody 'ell are you doin' down there?"

"The ground attacked me," Pepper explained sarcastically. "Without any warning, too. Just grabbed me and knocked me over. We were just wrestling it out when you showed up."

Instead of laughing, or even sneering, Elaine just looked confused. "Th' ground attacked you? I never 'eard of anything like that 'appening e'er before," she said with genuine concern. "You all right?"

Pepper was amazed. "Yes, I'm fine." Clearly, Elaine had never heard of sarcasm before. It had been Pepper experience that many grown witches and wizards didn't really understand the Muggle language. Then again, Pepper understood just as little about magic. She surveyed the purple bus, taking in all three levels. "So, what is this bus again?"

El;aine rolled her eyes. "I tol' you. This 'ere's th' Knight Bus, 'mergency transport for any stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out you. . . Do you really need me t' say it again?"

"No, I think I got it now," Pepper said, still staring at the Knight Bus intently. Elaine looked satisfied. "So, if I asked you to take me to the Leaky Cauldron...?"

"Yeah, sho' nuff. This 'ere bus can go anywhere, 'cept can't do nothing underwater. 't's eleven sickles t' go t' London, but thirteen if you want 'hot chocolate, and fifteen t' ge' a 'ot water bottle and a toothbrush in th' colour of your choice," Elaine recited from memory. Pepper thanked Wizard God she still had wizard money locked up in her trunk. She stepped down from the curb and hauled her trunk back until it was right side up. Elaine watched her curiously.

"Thirteen if I want a hot chocolate, right?" Pepper confirmed. Elaine nodded.

"Did your trunk ge' attacked by this 'ere ground too?" Elaine asked suddenly. Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes. She fished around in her trunk for her money bag and withdrew it. She plunked thirteen silver sickles in to Elaine's outstretched hand.

"Yep. The ground can be real violent sometimes," Pepper said with mock wisdom. Elaine nodded solemnly with her, and reached to the ground to pick up Pepper's trunk. She stopped though, as she came eye to eye with Fegan. Fegan fixed her with his beady eyed stare, his beak slightly parted into a grimace.

"Is tha' . . . Is tha' a bloody phoenix?" Elaine asked incredulously. Pepper wasn't sure if she should lie to her, or tell the truth, She knew that having a phoenix for a pet was incredibly uncommon, and only two had ever been tamed in recorded wizarding history. One, by Albus Dumbledore, the other, by the New Zealand Quidditch team to be their mascot, Sparky. Pepper couldn't see any harm in telling Elaine the truth. She also didn't see how she would cover up the fact that Fegan was a phoenix. He couldn't exactly pass for a raven.

"Yep," Pepper said simply and bluntly, understating the fact. Elaine grinned.

"Wicked."

Pepper smiled and stepped around her, up the steps and onto the first story of the Knight Bus. The floor was covered with beds, cots that attached to the ceiling by golden posts. Some of the beds were occupied, with little old witches snoring in their sleep, and one grizzly old wizard mumbling something about troll wrestling.

Elaine pushed Pepper's trunk underneath the cot nearest to the front door, and Pepper plunked herself down on the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable, but Pepper knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Elaine leaned forward and poked her head around a partition that Pepper hadn't noticed before. "Ready t' go, Ern?" she asked the driver.

_**BANG! **_The Knight Bus lurched forward suddenly, and Pepper gripped the edges of her cot tightly to keep from being launched forward through the windshield. Fegan hooted indignantly, and he gripped his talons into the bed sheet. Pepper heard a ripping sound as his sharp talons tore through the flimsy fabric. Elaine smiled, leaning casually against the driver's partition. Her body swayed in sync with the bus, and she held a Daily Prophet in one hand, scanning it with one eye. Out the window, Pepper caught glimpses of fields and houses as they whizzed by. "How fast are we going?" Pepper exclaimed.

"Dunno. Fast enough, I wager," Elaine said nonchalantly. She was still staring intently at Pepper and her Phoenix. " 'ow'd you get a bloody phoenix t' follow you around like tha'? Is 'e trained?' She stretched a tentative hand towards Fegan, but seemed to think the better of it as Fegan shredded his talons against the bed sheet.

"He found me, I guess. Won't leave me alone," Pepper ginned. She could feel Fegan's burning look from across the chord of music between them.

"Tha' makes you strong magic, girl. Not for just anyone that a phoenix bonds 'isself to," Elaine said, shaking her head at Pepper's ignorance. "You even go' tha' mark there t' prove i'," she declared, pointing an accusing finger at the burning place in the hollow of Pepper's neck.

"What mark?" Pepper asked, confused. Elaine just shook her head.

"Mark my word, girl, you gonna do some powerful stuff wi' tha' there phoenix." Her words seemed to echo what Pepper had heard the previous year, about her family being the most powerful witches and wizards alive, with each generation being stronger than the next. Pepper already knew that she was 'destined for greatness'. Now, it seemed, Fegan was a part of all that.

_Is that what you're here to do? Cause me trouble? _Pepper asked. Fegan sent back a feeling of false innocence. Pepper almost laughed out loud, but she didn't. She didn't need Elaine thinking she was any crazier. She searched for another topic of conversation, one that wasn't so heavy.

"So, can I have my hot chocolate?" Pepper asked brightly. Elaine started.

"I forgo' 'bout tha', didn' I? 'Course you can, just gi'me a moment 'ere," Elaine said, shuffling past Pepper and the swaying cots towards the back of the Knight Bus. She left her copy of The Daily Prophet lying open on the bed next to Pepper. Pepper glanced down at the page. She had been some what out of touch with the Wizarding World over the summer, and she was curious to see what was happening. One headline jumped out at her.

PRISON RIOTS AT AZKABAN, MINISTRY FEARS ANOTHER MASS BREAKOUTPepper scanned the article. Prisoners fighting, screaming, attacking guards, hurling themselves at the bars . . . Additional Aurors had been called in to supervise the high-risk prisoners, the former Death-Eaters, at all hours . . . One prisoner had escaped his cell, only to be caught and detained again by the Aurors . . . To Pepper, it sounded like the Ministry was having particular issue with the Death Eaters. Something was stirring them, riling them up, with fear or excitement, Pepper didn't know. She only knew that it had to be something big.

" 'Ere's your 'ot chocolate," Elaine said cheerily, returning with a steaming purple mug in her hands. "Careful, it's 'ot," she warned unnecessarily, placing the mug into Pepper's steady hands. The warm, rich smell of chocolate reached Pepper's nose, and she inhaled the comforting scent deeply. She raised the mug to her lips to take a sip. _**BANG!**__**  
**_  
"Son of a Banshee!" Pepper screeched as the Knight Bus squealed to a halt outside of The Leaky Cauldron.

"This 'ere's your stop," Elaine said, oblivious to Pepper's obvious pain as she pulled her trunk out from under the bed. Elaine tossed the trunk unceremoniously out of the doors, and stood aside to allow Pepper to pass her. " 'ave a good evenin'!" she said brightly. Pepper nodded, biting her lip in pain. She had only just stepped of the bus when _**BANG! **_It disappeared in a flash of purple light.

Pepper took in her sodden jeans and sweater. The cold wind did little to sooth the burning pain in her chest and thighs. Fegan gave a snicker across the shining chord between them. "Shut up," she grumbled at him, only causing him to laugh again.

"Is someone there?"

Pepper heard the familiar voice call out of the darkness, and Professor Longbottom stepped forward, holding his wand aloft, lit and poised to attack. He relaxed his stance when he saw who it was, but his face was still tight with confusion. "Pepper . . . What are you doing here? And why are you covered in chocolate?"

Pepper wanted to answer him, to tell him everything that had happened that evening in a calm, collected manner before making her request to stay with him. She had hoped that she could remain composed. But seeing him there, and hearing the obvious concern in his voice, so unlike her father, cracked Pepper's resolve. "I . . . I . . ." she struggled to speak. Then she burst into tears and flung herself into the Professor's arms.

Professor Longbottom caught her, and he knelt down slightly so she could wrap her arms around his shoulders, She burrowed her face into his neck, the tears still pouring down her face. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered in her ear, bewildered but reassuring. He rocked her gently back and forth. "It's okay. You're here now, you're safe."

Pepper pulled back from his embrace slightly to look him in the eyes, her arms still wrapped around his shoulders. Her face was wet with moisture and emotion. "Can I stay with you?" she sobbed. Professor Longbottom nodded, without any hesitation.

"Of course you can. Come inside, and you can tell me the whole story." Pepper nodded. She stepped away from the Professor, and he stood up, taking her hand comfortingly. He led her towards her trunk, still on the ground where Elaine had thrown it. Professor Longbottom picked up the trunk's handle, and started leading Pepper and her luggage towards The Leaky Cauldron. Fegan flapped his powerful wings, and Pepper stretched out her arm to accommodate the bird. Professor Longbottom stared incredulously.

"Is that a phoenix?" he asked in amazement. Pepper nodded.

"It's kind of a long story," she said by way of a brief explanation. Professor Longbottom looked like her might protest, or demand further answers but he bit his lip. Pepper was sure he had seen the tears still swimming in her eyes.

"I'm sure it is. You can tell me once we're inside," he said, smiling slightly, and he led Pepper in off the streets and in to his home.


	5. The Drunken Phoenix

_Just thought you should all know- I'm eating Jell-O right now. That's right. Be jealous.  
Oh, and another shout out to my reviewers! My Mom keeps asking me why I sit at the computer, squealing with happiness. She thinks I'm crazy. I think you guys are just plain awesome!_

* * *

The pub was empty, as was to be expected at 11 o'clock at night. Pepper could still see candlelight illuminating some of the rooms and hallways upstairs, however, and she could hear the tremendous snores of one of the occupants. Professor Longbottom winced as they sat down at the bar to the earth-shaking sounds. "We tried to muffle the sound from his room magically, but nothing seems to do the trick," he said apologetically. Pepper sniggered, and the snoring man continued.

Professor Longbottom reached around behind the bar to bring out two clean goblets and set them on the table. He looked quizzically at Fegan. "Does he want something to drink to?" he asked uncertainly. Pepper poised the question to Fegan across their link, and she received a dim approval in response.

"Sure, I guess," Pepper said, and Neville pulled out a third goblet, as well as a few bottles of butterbeer. Pepper took two bottles, emptying one into her own goblet, the other into Fegan's. She watched as Fegan cautiously bent his head forward, and dipped his beak briefly into his goblet. She felt the pleasure emanating from him, and Fegan whistled a soprano note in his delight before diving back in again.

"I guess he likes it," Professor Longbottom chuckled. Then he turned to Pepper, and his face was all seriousness again. "So, tell me this long story of your?"

Pepper sighed. "Well, basically, my summer is sucking so far. My father refused to talk to me from the minute I stepped off the train. He wouldn't even be in the same room as me. So I locked myself up in the attic, and studied magic and did my best to ignore him." Professor Longbottom nodded sympathetically. "Fegan just showed up one night. He was singing, and I opened my window and let his inside. He touched me, and it . . . burned me. Right here." Pepper gestured to the place in the hollow of her neck where Elaine had pointed out her 'tattoo'. Professor Longbottom squinted his eyes as he looked at the mark.

"It looks like alchemy. The triangle, which symbolizes fire. And the symbol for gold, or the Sun, or God, enclosed within." Professor Longbottom evaluated. "That's certainly interesting."

"And now, it's like I can hear what Fegan's thinking," Pepper blurted out. She wasn't sure if she would regret it later, but there was no one she trusted more than Professor Longbottom. "I get impressions, feelings, and all kinds of images and symbols. It's like we're connected."

"I can't tell you if that's normal for a phoenix owner or not. So few have ever been domesticated, it's pretty much impossible to tell," Neville admitted. "What happened after Fegan arrived?"

"My Dad came in, and he freaked. He ran down the stairs as fast as he could. I went down to talk to him. We said a lot of stuff, I tried to reason with him . . . he said he could never accept me as a witch," Pepper said sadly. Professor Longbottom placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. "I left. I ran away with my school stuff and Fegan. I got picked up by the Knight Bus, and they brought me here, and Elaine, the conductor, spilled my hot chocolate all over me," Pepper pouted slightly. Professor Longbottom laughed, and withdrew his wand from his robes.

"Well, I can easily fix that. _Tergeo!"_he said, pointing his wand at Pepper's clothing. Instantly, the sodden stains disappeared, having been siphoned away by the Professor's wand.

"Thanks," Pepper whispered. It was small kindness, but still the nicest thing that anyone had done for her yet that day.

"As for your other problems, I can't be much help with your father. Unless you want me to jinx him," he offered, and Pepper let out a short giggle. "You're welcome to stay here with Hannah and me. I can give you your old room, and you can wait out the summer here. I'll even get you to the train on time." Pepper smiled, and flung her arms around the Professor again.

"Thank you," she said, pulling away. She was suddenly overcome with how tired she was. She stepped down off her stool, and was immediately hit with a dizzying wave of vertigo that had her swaying on the spot. "Whoa."

"You all right?" Professor Longbottom asked with concern. Pepper nodded, but the strange feeling of being tipsy still echoed in her mind. She traced it across her mind, and down the golden streak of music. She turned her head towards Fegan. The phoenix was teetering before an empty goblet, issuing small whistles and notes of harmony and he stumbled around the counter.

"You! You're drunk!" Pepper accused the bird. Fegan hooted feebly, and Pepper giggled. "Look at that! My phoenix is drunk!" Professor Longbottom's booming laugh joined her own and Fegan flapped his wings tipsily and fluttered to her arm. He had to grip his claws in tightly to keep upright.

"Well, what do you know?" the Professor chuckled. "I'll have to change the name of this place from The Leaky Cauldron to The Drunken Phoenix." Pepper laughed, and Fegan whistled what may have been in indignation, but his thoughts were blurred with the butterbeer haze.

Professor Longbottom led the pair up the stairs, to the bedroom that Pepper had used during her stay at The Leaky Cauldron before the previous school year. He said good night to Pepper, promising to talk in the morning. Pepper flung herself onto the waiting bed, Fegan setting in next to her on one of the pillows. His eyes were bleary with exhaustion akin to her own, and he whistled happily as Pepper drew the covers over herself, still fully clothed.

"You'd better not give me a hangover in the morning," Pepper threatened, and she thought she felt Fegan's musical laughter across the bond before her eyes closed with sleep.

* * *

Pepper woke up with a pounding headache, and Fegan's liquid eyes blinking concernedly over her. "Curse you, you bloody pigeon," she groaned as she felt the throbbing across their bond. It was bad enough for her phoenix to have gotten drunk, even without her having to deal with the consequences. She swore that Fegan would never find himself near butterbeer ever again.

Pepper crossed to the small bathroom that attached to her room. The faucet was dripping slightly, in a steady rhythm that seemed to be thrice louder than it should have been. Pepper turned the faucet on all the way, and splashed cold water on to her face. Looking at her face in the mirror, she saw that her hair was impossibly tangled with itself. She groaned. That would take forever to brush out.

When she was finally decent and her mass of curls tamed, Pepper set off down the stairs, taking each one slowly. Fegan fluttered behind her, hopping from perch to perch along the banister railing as to avoid getting too far ahead of her. The pub was filled with the morning crowd, many of them were being served breakfast or reading the newest issue of The Daily Prophet. Pepper took an empty seat at the bar, behind which Hannah stood, making coffee and toast, while frying the eggs with a flick of her wand. She smiled warmly at Pepper when she sat down, and pushed a steaming mug of tea at her.

"Neville told me about what Fegan did last night," Hannah chuckled. "Ginger tea usually helps."

"At the very least, it's helpful to me," Professor Longbottom said, pulling out the stool next to Pepper. "How do you feel?"

"Awful," Pepper admitted. "This phoenix is never touching that stuff again." Pepper glared at Fegan, and he whistled as he looked away sheepishly. Pepper raised an eyebrow at the Professor. "Your name is Neville?"

Professor Longbottom glanced at his wife meaningfully, and Hannah blushed and turned away, a small grin tugging at her lips. "Yes," he admitted wryly.

"Can _I _call you Neville?"

Professor Longbottom laughed. "Here, yes, but at school you have to call me Professor."

"What about Professor Neville? How does that sound?" Pepper grinned, taking a small sip of her tea. It was hot, and it seared her tongue, but Hannah had been right. It gave her sudden and surprising clarity.

Neville sighed. "Well, it's not like I can stop you, anyways," he said with an air of defeat, and Pepper grinned. "By the way, your Hogwarts letter came today. Never misses a thing, McGonagall." He handed her the parchment envelope, addressed to her room at The Leaky Cauldron in green ink. Pepper opened the wax seal. Inside was her new book list for the second year. She already knew what supplies she was running low on for Potions: Lethe water and spine of lionfish. She could go to Diagon Alley today and pick up what she needed. There was a second page enclosed, however, and Pepper read it curiously. It was a private letter from Headmistress McGonagall, detailing what supplies she would need in order to care for her new phoenix, and where she could find them.

"It's amazing! She already knows about Fegan!" Pepper exclaimed. Neville didn't look surprised.

"That's just her way. Do you need me there when you go to buy all of this?" he asked. Pepper shook her head no.

"I know where everything is. I'll be fine." Pepper told him. She tilted her mug upwards and downed the rest of her tea. It scalded her throat on the way down, and she coughed hoarsely, her eyes watering. Neville shook his head.

"Sometimes you worry me," he chuckled. Pepper stuck out her tongue before swinging off the stool and walking towards the entrance to Diagon Alley. She heard the flapping of wings as Fegan took off from the bar counter and came to rest on her right shoulder.

The Alley was bustling with activity that day, though not so much as it had been on Pepper's first visit. She was able to slip her small form through the crowd in the general direction of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Fegan flew over head, keeping his pace with her; he attracted far too much attention and took up too much room on her shoulder. When she had at last made it to the marble step, she sent a message to Fegan along the golden chord of music. _I'm going to my vault now. Wait here. Don't cause any trouble; don't draw to much attention to yourself. Understood? _She felt his recognition in response, and so she stepped in to the Bank.

The glass-ceilinged, gold-inlaid atrium would never cease to amaze her, she thought. The gaping hole in the floor remained untouched; its jagged edges had been polished with the utmost care until they gleamed. A monument to Harry Potter, and the honoured goblins who had given their lives in the war against The Dark Lord. Pepper remembered reading about the event in one of her books. The goblins working paid her no mind as she passed; they were all occupied with counting gold Galleons or weighing precious stones. Pepper marched right up to the far end of the atrium, to the large desk where she had gone to on her first visit to Gringotts. "Pepper Pyramus," she announced in a clear voice to the goblin sitting there. He lowered his bushy grey brows as he glared at her. Pepper stared back at him defiantly. Eventually, the goblin nodded, waving forward one of the other goblins to escort her to the carts.

Pepper plunged into the darkness of the underground vaults, her stomach rising in to her throat as the cart picked up speed. It was just her and the one goblin, and she felt slightly nervous at the thought of being alone with one of the creatures. She did not have any personal quarrel with the species or any particular disdain for them. She did, however, recollect the numerous lectures given by the ghost of Professor Binns, her History of Magic teacher, on the Goblin Wars, and the ruthlessness of the goblins involved. She delved a hand into her pocket to grip her wand tightly.

The cart lurched to a halt at the bottom most levels of the Bank. Pepper stood shakily and stepped out of the cart. The goblin rose to accompany her, but she shook her head. "I won't be long," she told him. "Just lend me your dagger." The goblin grinned maliciously, his pointed teeth revealed, and he withdrew his sharp knife and handed it to her. Pepper nodded her thanks, and started towards the passage that led to her vault. She withdrew her wand, murmuring "_Lumos!_" as she did so. The wand tip flared to life, and the ghostly red were light faded in the brighter, purer light of her wand.

Pepper heard the rumbling snores of the dragon ahead of her, and she figured he was taking a cat nap . . . or a dragon nap . . . whatever the term, he was asleep. Her suspicions were confirmed as she rounded the last corner of the passageway and stepped into the illuminated cavern. The dragon was curled up against one of the walls, yet his bulk encircled more than half of the enormous space. His tail flicked dreamily near the ornate golden door. Pepper ran her hand over the dragon's scales as she passed, feeling the leather quality to them.

She stopped in front of the golden door, and gazed dubiously at the borrowed knife in her hand. She had hated this part the most during her last visit. She ran the knife gently across her hand. It was somewhat dull, and so she had to press hard before it bit into her skin. Pepper let out an involuntary gasp of pain as bright red beads of blood appeared in the wound. She smeared her hand against the door, biting back curses. The door glowed its rusty, bloody red, and melted into nothingness. Pepper glanced behind her, expecting Professor Longbottom to be there to close the wound, as he had the first time, and cursed when she remembered his absence. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come along. The wound was bleeding profusely now, so Pepper grasped the material at the bottom of her shirt and tore of a strip. She wrapped this around her hand repeatedly as she stepped into the fault.

As before, gold and silver, jewels and gemstones, glinted and sparkled at her from all side of the cavern. Everything was relatively undisturbed; no one had entered the vault since Pepper's last visit. She was filled with the same sense of loathing as she looked over the accumulated wealth. It all meant nothing to her. It was just history, the story of a proud and ancient family she felt no connection to. Her necklace seemed tighter around her neck, as if it were reminiscing being returned to its prison in this vault. Pepper ignored the suffocating sensation as she swept her Galleons and Sickles into her money bag. It was more than enough to last her the year. She didn't want any reason to return to this forsaken cavern.

Back on the surface, Pepper stepped blinking into the bright sunlight that lit up Diagon Alley. Her breathing was rough and fast, she sucked in great gulps of oxygen. Despite its enormous size, being in that vault made her feel claustrophobic, like there wasn't enough air to breath surrounded by all of that treasure. Fegan could sense her discomfort; he floated gracefully down from the marble roof to settle on her shoulder once more. "I told you not to draw attention to yourself," she reprimanded him, but she felt grateful for his presence. Fegan knew it too. Across the connection came a searing pain, and a vision of Pepper's injured hand. Pepper raised it for Fegan's inspection.

"I don't know how to heal it with magic yet," she explained to him. Fegan blinked at her sympathetically, and lowered his head next to her injured palm. His liquid eyes looked even more watery, and they seemed to fill with tears. He blinked the tears loose, and they fell onto Pepper hand, soaking through her makeshift bandage. Pepper felt a steaming heat, and then an unexpected sense of blissful relief as the tears touched her skin. She pulled at the shirt-bandage, and it fell away, revealing her now unmarked palm.

"Well, that's convenient," she said astonished. She had known that phoenix tears had healing powers, but it had never occurred to her that Fegan would have those abilities. "Thank you," she whispered with real gratitude. Fegan just looked pleased with himself as he accepted her thanks.

* * *

**_Reviews?_**


	6. Reunions

_Sorry for the wait, I've been having computer issues!  
School starts soon, so updates may become less frequent, and I apologize for that. I'll try my hardest, though.  
You are all awesome!_

* * *

Flourish and Blotts was particularly busy that morning when Pepper walked in to purchase her school books. Again, she had ordered Fegan to wait outside for her on the roof. She could only imagine the kind of damage he could do in a book shop full of flammable merchandise. Anyways, she wouldn't be long. The only new book required for second year was _Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two _by Miranda Goshawk, but she also wanted to pick up a few new books of hexes and jinxes. Pepper felt as if she had a family name to live up to, and if she couldn't defend herself, there was no point to it.

Thankfully, all of the books for new and returning Hogwarts students were stored right at the front of the shop, away from the scrambling crowds of witches and wizards. Pepper grabbed her spell book from the top of the Second Year pile, then dodge around a group of female witches clamoring over the last copy of _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide To Household Pests _as she made her way towards the Curse and Counter-Curses section of the store.

The aisle was relatively empty as Pepper walked down it. Only one person sat there, cross-legged on the floor, reading an enormous volume that was nearly larger than her. She looked to be about Pepper's age, and her hair was a soft, pale blonde behind the books dusty covers. Pepper stared, and the girl lowered the volume. "Hi Pepper. Have a good summer?" Mikaela asked in a chipper voice.

Pepper grinned, and Mikaela returned the smile lazily. She closed the large volume and set it on the floor next to her as she stood to give Pepper a hug. "Not bad," Pepper laughed at the understatement. "You?"

"We were in Brazil," Mikaela explained. Pepper noticed that she had a bit of a tan. "I wanted to write, but the local post didn't have any owls that could cross the Atlantic. Sorry." Pepper shrugged. She hadn't been too concerned about Mikaela not writing, Sure, they were best friends, but Mikaela sort of did her own thing., She couldn't really be counted on to stay true to common courtesy and etiquette. She did whatever she felt like doing at the time. She was easy to be friends with.

"Mikaela," someone called from around the side of the book shelf. Mikaela rolled her eyes as a boy Pepper's own age stepped out into the aisle. He had medium-length blond hair that fell into his eyes in a shaggy disarray, his eyes a cold blue. He frowned as he took in Pepper standing there, and Pepper frowned right back at him. He blushed and looked away, embarrassed.

"Pepper, this is my distant cousin, Scorpius," Mikaela explained. "I was hiding from him back here, but it looks like he's found me." Scorpius glanced down at the worn wooden floor of the shop.

"Father wants to see you. We're leaving any minute now," Scorpius explained.

Mikaela rolled her eyes and turned back to Pepper. "My parents thought it would be nice to spend another week or two in Brazil, so they shipped me back home to stay with my Malfoy cousins before school starts," Mikaela shook her head in disgust. "Look, Pepper, I'll see you on the train?" Pepper nodded, and Mikaela smiled at her before turning to Scorpius. "Alright, Scorp, take me to your leader." Mikaela brushed past him in the direction of the front desk, and Scorpius followed, throwing a glance back at Pepper over his shoulder.

Pepper paid for her books and walked back out onto the street. She heard Fegan above her, whistling a melodic tune as soon as he saw her. _I'm going to the pet supply store now. Coming? _Fegan dove down from the roof and landed gracefully on her shoulder. Pepper walked down the street in the direction of the Magical Menagerie. Fegan drew strange glances as Pepper passed the crowds, and she saw people leaning over to whisper in their friends ears. On her shoulder, Fegan sat up a little straighter, and preened his already glossy feathers. Pepper grinned. Her phoenix, the attention hog.

The Magical Menagerie was full of screeching owls, squabbling rats, and croaking toads that all contributed to the din of the shop. At the front desk, a young witch sat with a pair of ear muffs on to dull the noise. Pepper walked straight up to the desk, doing her best to avoid stepping on any of the cats that lay dozing in patches on sunshine. "Excuse me!" she shouted at the clerk. She turned, and her eyes widened as she took in Fegan in all his glory. Pepper smiled.

"Yeah, hi. I need all the things on this list for my phoenix here," Pepper said, pulling the list McGonagall had sent her out of her back pocket and handing it to the stunned clerk. "Can you help me out?" The clerk nodded in a daze, and glanced down at the list, her eyes slightly glazed as she sped over the items.

"We have most of this stuff in the back. I'll go get it for you," the clerk said, and she hardly took her eyes off of Fegan while she walked into the back room of the shop, slamming the door shut behind her.

Pepper leaned up against the counter, taking in the scene around her. Owls hooted in their cages, blinking their enormous eyes at Pepper. Rats ran on their little wheels, and played jump rope over eachother's tails. One enormous, humungously fat toad sat in a glass tank, his throat moving as he croaked in a deep bass. Fegan had hopped down from Pepper's should and was now strutting across the counter towards the rats cage, eyeing the occupants with a hungry expression.

"Fegan," Pepper said accusingly, and Fegan spun his head back towards her, his gaze shifting back to the rats. "Nu uh. I'm not paying for anything you eat." Fegan sent her what might have been a resigned sigh across the melodic bond between them, and Pepper rolled her eyes. The bell to the shop rang, and Pepper turned to the front. A familiar face walked in, his owl hooting wildly in the cage on his arm.

"Kujo, shut up. I swear, I'll put a blanket over you again, and I know how you hate that," Sacha cursed at his owl. Pepper had to stifle a laugh.

"You know, talking to animals is probably one of the first signs of insanity," she teased, and Sacha raised his head towards her voice. His face split into a crooked smile, his over sized front teeth showing in a buck-toothed grin.

"Pepper!" he exclaimed, running forward a few steps. He stopped as he looked at Fegan on the counter. "What the bloody hell is that?" Sacha's mouth fell open, and he stood staring like a blinking idiot.

"That, my Canadian friend, is a phoenix," Pepper laughed as she pulled Sacha into a one armed hug. "How was the Ice skating this summer?"

Sacha rolled his eyes. "It was July. You can't ice skate in July. Canadian summers are just as warm as over here." Pepper laughed, sensing Sacha was about to go into another one of this rants on Canadian culture.

"This is Fegan," she said, and Fegan blinked at Sacha curiously. "He found me this summer."

"He's yours?" Sacha asked, dumbfounded.

"Far as I'm concerned. I can't seem to get rid of him, anyways." Pepper nudged Fegan with an elbow, and he hooted indignantly. "What are you doing in here?"

"Kujo keeps losing his feathers. I told my Mom that he's just moulting, and it's completely normal, but you know my Mom," Sacha rolled his eyes and glanced out the shop window behind him, Pepper followed his gaze and saw Mrs. Keith standing outside, her face pressed up against the dirty glass as she struggled to see what was happening inside. Pepper had to stifle another laugh.

"You ready for Second year?" she asked. Sacha nodded.

"Thank Wizard God I only needed to buy one spell book this year. Mom won't be dragging me back to double check every little thing again." Pepper laughed in sympathy. The clerk came out of the back room, carrying a large basket containing a perch, a travel cage, feather treatments, and other things besides.

"That'll be 3 Galleons," she said nervously, glancing at Fegan as he thrust his head towards the basket. Pepper handed over the money and picked up the basket in her free hand. It was heavier than she had anticipated, and her hand dropped several inches.

"Wizard God, this is heavy!" she exclaimed, turning away from the counter. Fegan flapped over onto her shoulder. "I'm not carrying this stuff," she complained to him. "It's ours, you carry it." Fegan sent her a mental eye roll, and grasped the basket between his talons. He rose into the air with ease, flapping his wings to stay afloat in one place. Behind her, Sacha set Kujo's cage up on the counter.

"What dd you want me to do about this?" the clerk asked indignantly. "He's just moulting, he's fine."

Sacha let out a sigh of relief. "I knew it," he said as he picked up Kujo's cage again and followed Pepper out of the shop. "You and Fegan staying at The Leaky Cauldron?" He asked d Pepper. She nodded. "Good. We can catch a ride to the train together tomorrow."

"Alexandre? What did she say? If Kujo alright?" Mrs. Keith swarmed over as soon as Pepper and Sacha had stepped foot out of the shop. "Oh, Philippa, how lovely to see you! And what a lovely phoenix! How did you get him!" Sacha rolled his eyes at Pepper before turning to answer his mother, and Pepper smiled. Mothers sure could be weird, but at least Sacha was lucky enough to have one.


	7. Going Back

_Sorry this took a while. My family's going through a pretty sad time right now, and I just couldn't post this. Hopefully, things will be looking up from here. School's going and homework is insane, so updates may take a little longer than usual. I apologize profusely in advance. Hope you enjoy this, anyways._

_God, I love Sacha! Is it narcissism to love your own characters?  
_

* * *

Pepper's trunk was packed, her socks all located from between the floorboards, and her books stuffed into every available nook and cranny. Fegan was locked inside his ornate golden cage, which he hated. It had taken nearly an hour to coax and bribe him through the door, and when Pepper had latched the gate shut on him, Fegan had let out such a trumpeting cry of indignation that many of the pub's occupants were complaining about hearing loss. Fegan wouldn't talk to Pepper now, sending her waves of stony silence across the bond as he fumed within his golden prison.

Now, as she pushed her loaded trolley through the crowded King's Cross station, Pepper was aware of the strange glances she was drawing from muggles as they jostled each other around to make their trains. Fegan's cage was covered by an enormous piece of dark coloured cloth, but there was unmistakable music issuing from the cage as he whistled his protest_. Shut Up_! Pepper reprimanded him across their minds as a little old lady glared at her. Fegan ignored her, and Pepper felt someones high heeled shoe stomp hard on her foot as the old lady walked away.

"Pepper!" Sacha dodged around the grumpy old woman as he spotted Pepper making her way towards the magical barrier to Platform 9 3/4. His mother followed behind him, the combination of her long, sweeping violet robes and Kujo hotting in his cage drawing as many stares as Pepper had. Sacha gripped Pepper into a swift hug. "Save me," he whispered harshly in her ear. "My mom is pulling the abandoned parent routine again."

Pepper laughed, even as Mrs. Keith swooped down and pulled her son into her arms. Sacha made a strangled choking sound. "Oh, my baby, leaving for another year," Mrs. Kieth sniffed. Her watery eyes searched Pepper's face, who bit her lip to hide her amusement. "Pepper, dear, promise me you'll keep my Alexandre out of trouble?"

"I promise," Pepper said solemnly. Sacha stuck out his tongue and glared at her with the full force of her betrayal. Mrs. Keith looked slightly mollified, however, and she let go of Sacha. He ducked away from her, returning to Pepper's side.

"I am so glad that he has friends like you, Pepper, to keep in in line and well behaved," Mrs. Keith said warmly. Now, it was Sacha who had to stifle his laughter. They knew that of the two of them, Pepper was more likely to get in trouble for disobeying the teachers or setting fire to the bed curtains. But neither one of them tried to correct her.

"Mom, we kind of have to get on to the platform now," Sacha reminded his mother. She glanced swiftly at her watch, and gasped dramatically upon seeing the time.

"Oh, my word! Quickly, children, quickly!" Sacha rolled his eyes at Pepper, and ducked around a large, overweight man in a business suit towards Platforms 9 and 10. As they neared the magical barrier, Pepper noticed the crowds thinning, as many people were walking out of their way to avoid the large grouping of children with their owls. The Hogwarts cue walked towards the wall between platforms 9 and 10 one by one, single file, each witch or wizard disappearing from view before they splattered on the brickwork. Mrs. Keith strode to the front of the cue, waving Pepper and Sacha forward with an elaborate hand gesture. Pepper followed her, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline as the wall loomed closer and closer, and the cool, lightweight feeling as she slipped through to the platform on the other side.

The Hogwarts express was waiting there in all of its scarlet clad glory. Steam issued is copious amounts from its stack, filling the air with a smoky gray haze. Pepper wheeled her trolley to the nearest open door, and slid her trunk down, grasping Fegan's cage in her free hand. Sacha moved to do the same, but his mother caught him on the shoulder. "He'll catch up with you, dear, just go find a compartment," Mrs. Kieth smiled kindly. Pepper grinned at Sacha's pained expression as she forced her trunk up the stairs and onto the train.

The aisles between compartments were crowded, and Pepper had to walk with Fegan cage outstretched in front of her, her trunk dragging some distance behind. Every compartment she passed was full, students hugging their friends and already sharing storied from their summer holidays. Pepper finally came to a compartment with a lone occupant. She was tucked behind the latest issues of the Daily Prophet, her black hair could only just be seen sticking up in a tuft over the top. Pepper slid the door open with her foot. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

The newspaper fell away, and Pepper found herself staring at a familiar face. "Pepper!" Grape squealed, and she flung her tiny frame across the seat to wrap her arms around Pepper's waist. Pepper laughed and stepped back slightly. She dropped her trunk down behind her to wrap one arm around the smaller girl.

"Hey, sweetie," Pepper smiled, and Grape's face coloured noticeably as she fell back into her seat. The tiny girl's hands were nearly quivering with excitement. Pepper noticed that her robes, which she had already changed into, rested a little above her ankles, indicating that she had grown slightly over the summer months. Even so, they hung loose around her small frame. Her eyes were shadowed purple, despite her cheery grin. "How are you?"

Grape's smile faltered for a brief instant. "I'm fine," she chirruped when she had recovered. Pepper didn't believe her, but she decided not to press her for the moment. She set Fegan's cage down on the seat opposite Pepper as she turned to grab her trunk and hoist it up onto the overhead rack. When she turned back, Grape had lifted up the corner of the cage';s cover and was now staring into Fegan liquid black eyes. "Whoa!" she exclaimed in amazement, and Fegan blinked appreciatively. "He's amazing!"

"He's mine," Pepper explained, grunting slightly as she heaved the weight of her books and cauldron up above her head. The sudden weight was released, and she flopped unceremoniously onto the seat next to Fegan's cage. "He's a phoenix. He found me this summer. His name is Fegan."

"He's gorgeous," Grape whispered in awe, clearly taking in his soft, scarlet plumage and proud features. From across their bond, Pepper sensed an affectionate approval and a distinct liking for Grapelle. Pepper laughed.

"He likes you," Pepper told Grape. "He likes anyone who flatters him." Pepper lifted the latch on Fegan's cage and swung the door open. Fegan burst out of his prison at the first sign of his freedom, and he settled gracefully on Grape's lap. She reached out a tentative hand and stroked the glossy feathers along his neck. Fegan whistled a note that sounded like a purr of contentment, and Grape laughed with delight.

Pepper glanced out the compartment window, and she saw Sacha having a large kiss planted on his cheek by his mother. His face was contorted with affection and simultaneous resentment. Part of Pepper wanted to laugh at his discomfort, but another part felt incredibly jealous. Pepper wished that she had someone who would take her to the train station, a mother who would fuss and cry and hug her goodbye. Instead, she had Neville, who was as close to a father as she could have, yet still a poor substitute. Still, Neville had pulled her into a fierce hug, and Hannah had kissed her on the cheek before they had left her outside the station that morning.

The compartment door slid open again, and Albus strode in, placing his trunk in the overhead compartment without asking permission. Rose sidled in behind him, her face warm and smiling. "Hey," she said quietly, and Pepper gave her a swift hug before Grape tackled her out of the way. Pepper turned to Albus, who was now sitting next to Pepper's seat, his green eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Hey," he said casually, his face splitting into the lopsided grin that Pepper loved. They grasped eachother's hands, and puled one another into a tight embrace. Pepper felt Albus nod across her shoulder. "Nice phoenix," he whispered in her ear. "Yours?"

"Can't get rid of him," Pepper whispered back jokingly. Albus laughed and pulled away, beaming as he looked her over, his eyes drinking in every little detail, looking for anything that had changed. Pepper straightened up her spine; she had definitely grown over the summer, and she wanted Albus to notice that she was still taller than him.

"Oh my Wizard God, please tell me none of you saw that," Sacha pleaded, cutting in through Albus and Pepper's embrace to place his trunk in the overhead compartment.

"What, the adorable little kiss from your Mum?" Pepper teased, and Sacha groaned, dumping himself into the bench seat next to Grape. "What's wrong, wittle Baby Alexandre." Pepper grinned and Albus snickered into the back off his hand. Sacha huffed loudly in annoyance.

"We're back to this, are we? All of you teasing me?"

"Remember, we only do it 'cause you're awesome," Grape smiled, wrapping her tiny arms around Sacha's waist. Sacha looked like he was going to protest, but as he looked down at Grape practically sitting in his lap, his face softened into one of his easy smiles.

"Heck yeah, I am," he sniffed, and Albus and Pepper shared a simultaneous look of amusement when Sacha wasn't looking. The floor shuddered underfoot, and Pepper heard the sound of the wheels picking up speed in their rotations. The train lurched, and the platform started moving away, stretching behind them as the Hogwarts Express started forward into the London countryside. Rose and Albus sat down on one bench next to Pepper, Sacha and Grape opposite them. Grape's feet dangled about a foot off the floor.

"Where's Cameron and Mikaela?" Rose questioned softly, as the green hills and trees whipped past the window.

"Cameron's probably sitting with some of the guys from the dorm," Sacha shrugged. "He'll drop in later. And Mikaela, well..." Sacha struggled for the right word to describe their Slytherin friend.

"She's just Mikaela. She does her own thing," Pepper finished, a little sadly. She really did enjoy the company of the Slytherin girl, but Mikaela was really rather different than the rest of the group. She wasn't obsessed with blood purity, like the others in her House, but she was more aloof and concerned with appearances than the rest of them. Except when it came to ticking off her older brother, Teddy. One of the reasons their friendship had gotten off to such a great start was because Pepper had a real knack for annoying the older Slytherin. Fortunately, this was his last year, and then Pepper would never have to deal with him ever again.

The trolley came around about 20 minutes later, and Pepper bought everyone what they asked for; Cauldron Cakes for Albus, Chocolate Frogs for Rose, Liquorice Wands for Grape and Fizzing Whizbees for Sacha. She also grabbed a few Pumpkin Pasties for when Cameron came around; they were his favourite. For herself, she bought 3 boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. She still hadn't tasted a Defeat flavoured bean, and she was determined to do so.

"How can you eat those things," Sacha looked disgusted as Pepper popped a murky brown bean into her mouth. She chewed for a moment - burnt toast.

"They're exciting," she said simply. "Care for one?" She held out the box to him. Sacha turned a light shade of green and shook his head.

"Don't mind if I do," an oily voice remarked, and a hand snaked out to snatch the box from Pepper's hand. Without even raising her head, Pepper knew who it was.

"Hey Teddy bear," she said lightly, turning towards the greasy-haired Slytherin and his posse. It was the same group of overly large, overly smelly boys that had followed him previously, with one new addition. Scorpius Malfoy hovered near the edge of the group, trying to mimic the sneering expressions of the older boys around him and failing, He looked uncomfortable and incredibly self conscious.

"Shut up, Pippa," Teddy growled, and he dug a filthy hand into Pepper's box of Beans. She sighed, those ones would have to be incinerated. He drew out a grayish bean, and shoved it greedily into his mouth. He looked triumphant and cocky as he chewed, but his face fell ever so slightly and he stared at the box in depressed confusion. Pepper sighed again, this time in protest. She knew the look on Teddy's face.

"Seriously! How come I'm the only one who hasn't tasted Defeat yet!" Albus snickered at the double meaning to her words, and Teddy blinked stupidly for a moment until he understood the joke.

"You calling me a loser?"

"I never said that. You did," Pepper grinned impishly. "You know, self deprecation is a sign of poor self esteem. Are you sure you're getting enough love at home? How's Mommy doing?" Teddy snorted angrily, and his posse looked at him in confusion. All of them, except for Scorpius. He was staring at Pepper, and he was very clearly trying to hide his amused grin. Pepper caught his eye. "Hey, Scorpius! What'cha doing hanging out with these neanderthals, anyway?"

Scorpius's eyes widened as the attention was drawn to him, and Teddy glared at him expectantly. Scorpius cleared his throat, and tried to muster some venom into his voice. "Shut up."

"Is that the best you can come up with?" Rose surprised everyone by speaking up and laughing at Scorpius's pathetic insult. "My dad's told me all about your family, Scorpius, especially your Dad, and he's right. You're all pathetic." Scorpius turned a light shade of pink, and he hung his head in shame.

"You got that right," Mikaela said, coming up the aisle to stand next to Scorpius. "Teddy, go back to your compartment. And leave Scorpius out of this. Torturing him is my job." Mikaela caught Pepper's eye and winked. "Besides, Pepper is so schooling you in this argument. I thought you'd learn your lesson by now."

Teddy bit his lip like her wanted to argue, but he didn't. He didn;t want to have his little sister pull the 'Mom' card on him in the middle of the train, surrounded by all of his friends. He turned back to Pepper and thrust her Beans back at her. "Watch yourself, Pippa," he threatened.

Pepper took the box gingerly with two fingers, holding it as far away from her as she possibly could. "I've heard that before," she said, and Teddy spun away with his friends in tow. Scorpius stayed behind, standing awkwardly in the middle of the aisle. Mikaela sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go back to your compartment, alright. Just stay away from Teddy." Scorpius looked relieved and nodded eagerly. He opened his mouth once or twice, perhaps to say sorry, but nothing came out, and he turned and scurried down the hall before any one else could say something. Mikaela sighed and tapped her foot. "Brothers," she tutted. Pepper laughed.

"Have a good summer, Mik?" Sacha asked nonchalantly. Mikaela shrugged, just as she had done when Pepper had asked her the same question in the book store.

"Brazil," was all she said by way of explanation. She sat down in the seat next to Grape and wrapped an arm around the smaller girl. "What about you, Grape-like-the-fruit-but-a-person?"

Grape giggled. "It was okay. Kind of boring at the orphanage, but it was okay. There was a new baby that they brought in, and I got to help take care of him!" she told the group excitedly. Grape then proceeded to regale them with exciting tales of baby-sitting, and Sacha mentioned the time when he had to babysit his little cousin and ended up with his head stuck in between the banister railings of the staircase. Everyone laughed at that.

About two hours into the trip, Cameron came to join them, sitting next to Sacha as he regaled them with tales of his vacation with his father in France. Of course, that brought up speaking in French, and they all ended up laughing hysterically at Sacha's impersonations of Inspector Clouseau attempting to purchase a hamburger. It was as if the summer had never happened, and they were back into their easy friendship. The train rolled into Hogsmeade station just as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon, and the sky was turning a deep midnight blue.

Pepper took a wrong turn at first, following the first years towards the sound of Hagrid's voice before remembering that, as second years, they wouldn't be taking the boats across the lake. Instead, Albus steered them towards several horseless carriages, carriages that, according to Albus, were pulled by horse-like creatures called 'Thestrals'.

"You can only see them if you've seen death," he explained. "My Dad says he can see them. They're sort of like horses, mixed with bats or something. They're really tame." Pepper hoped he was right about that, because something about being drawn along by an invisible, unknown creature associated with death unnerved her. The carriage lurched forward, and it was really unusual for Pepper to be moving along with nothing apparently pulling their weight.

They pulled through the gates to Hogwarts, the stone boars heads on either side of the stone pillars staring ominously into the darkening night sky as they started up the path that would lead them to the castle. The first lights fro the Hogwart's castle windows came into view, followed by the rest of the stone walls. Even the glistening blackness of the lake could be seen in the reflecting light. Pepper felt a familiar contentment as she stared at the castle that had become her home. She was finally back.


	8. Nightmares

Pepper stepped down from the carriage, stumbling a little bit as her feet touched the unsteady ground. She felt a little nauseous and decided that riding in horse drawn carriages definitely wasn't for her. Albus caught her arm as she swayed slightly on the spot.

"You alright?" he asked. Pepper groaned and shook her head.

"Never again. Next year, I'm sneaking in with the first years and taking the boats." Albus just grinned. He wrapped his arm around hers and pulled her, still wobbling slightly, towards the giant wooden doors of the castle. Sacha walked right behind, one arm wrapped around the shoulder of his best friend. Cameron was smiling dopily, his bright teeth flashing against dark skin that practically bended in to the darkness. Grape swung on Sacha's free arm, her tired eyes wide with excitement and she babbled to Rose who nodded along with a patient smile Mikaela had disappeared for the moment, but Pepper had seen her make a beeline for Scorpius as soon as they had stepped off of the carriage.

"I'm with Pepper on this one. Death ponies are kind of a creepy concept," Sacha grinned. "Wouldn't want one to swoop down on you all invisible, would you, Pep?"

"Shut up, Sacha," Pepper moaned, and Sacha grinned, delighted to finally have to opportunity to make fun of his friend. One they stepped past the wooden doors, the temperature seemed to drop suddenly; out of the warm breeze the cold stone walls filled the air with a subtle chill. The torches flickered feebly in their brackets on the wall, and Pepper glared towards the pitiful flame. As they past one of these torches, Pepper hissed under her breath, and the torch flared up with a sudden life, illuminating the shocked expression of Albus's face.

"You?" he asked, glancing pointedly at Pepper. She grinned, flashing him her teeth.

"I've been practicing," was all she gave by way of explanation. They entered the Great Hall, and Sacha detached himself from he excited Grape to walk with Cameron in the direction of the Hufflepuff table. Grape sighed, but skipped happily over to where the Ravenclaws sat. Pepper smiled as Grape cheerfully greeted all of her dorm friends, and a few of them flinched under her intense hugs. Albus, Pepper and Rose made their way to their customary seats at the end of the Gryffindor table, close to where James Potter sat with his large group of buddies.

"Hey, Pepper," James grinned as Pepper smiled and gave him a hug. With Pepper's arms around him, James glanced over her shoulder at Albus and winked. Albus's cheeks coloured a violent red. "How was your summer? I know Albus was _so _upset that you couldn't come visit. I swear, all he talked about all summer was how great you are and how he missed you…" James ducked out of the hug as Albus took a swat at James' head.

"Shut up," Albus muttered quietly, and James laughed before turning back towards his friends. Albus was returning to his normal skin tone as the three of them sat down at the end of the wooden benches. Pepper raised an eyebrow.

"You missed me that much, huh?" Albus practically shoved his nose into the table, and Rose laughed quietly. Headmistress McGonagall stood up, and tapped gently on her silver goblet. The noise wasn't loud enough for the entire Hall to hear it, but still, everyone fell silent. The Headmistress nodded briefly towards the doors.

On cue, the doors swung back into the Entrance Hall, and Professor Longbottom could be seen leading a frightened group of eleven-year-olds forward into the Great Hall. They looked tiny to Pepper, and she found it hard to believe that just last year she had been one of them. Their eyes swept the Hall wildly, taking in everything fro the enchanted ceiling, to the floating candles all around the walls, to the curious older students fixing them with intense stares.

Professor Longbottom stood at the base of the staff table, beside him of a stool sat the Sorting Hat. The wizened old hat looked deceptively silent and inanimate, but Pepper knew that it possessed a cunning mind and an incredibly sly tongue. Well, sly enough for a hat. Professor Longbottom reached into the pocket of his dark navy robes and withdrew a wand He flicked it once, and a scroll of parchment not dissimilar to the one that had listed last years students materialized in his hands. He cast a sidelong glance towards the Sorting Hat, who shivered and seemed to stretch yawningly on his stool. The rip at the brim fell open, and the hat began to sing in a voice hoarse with age.

_By the founders I was crafted_

_Many years ago_

_To place you in your houses and tell_

_Where you ought to go_

_Our founders sought to teach the young_

_Good magical technique_

_And while their goal was quite the same_

_Their values were unique_

_In Gryffindor the daring went_

_Those brave and stout in heart_

_To Slytherin were the cunning sent_

_With ambition to their part_

_Only those of great intelligence_

_Would go to Ravenclaw_

_While Hufflepuff prized the loyal and true_

_And how she loved them all_

_For many years these Houses stand_

_On these virtues alone_

_But in the trying times ahead_

_We must become much more_

_In our night the darkness hides_

_To extinguish the fire that Burns_

_Only together, future and past_

_Can we combat what evil yearns_

_The unity of everything _

_Hangs by just this tether_

_To stand a chance of victory_

_We must remain together_

_Heed my warning, and now too long_

_I've held you in suspense,  
So step right up! It's time now for  
The sorting to commence!_

The Hall erupted with cheers and applause, but Pepper refrained from joining in. Her mind replayed over and over again one of the last few stanzas from the Hat's song. _In our night the darkness hides/ To extinguish the fire that Burns/ Only together, future and past/ Can we combat what evil yearns. _To her, it sounded like another prophecy. The fire that burns could only be her. But past and future…? She didn't understand. But she did understand that something bad was happening, again. And once again, she was at the centre of it. Fantastic. Pepper sighed, and turned as the Hat was placed on the head of the first little student.

The Sorting finished, the scroll of names dissipated from mid air and the caretaker Argus Filch moved the stool out of view. Filch terrified Pepper; he was ancient and wizened, his mouth was void of any teeth and he had about 14 strands of stringy, unwashed hair covering his liver spotted scalp. That and his altogether charming personality – he had tried giving her detention on numerous occasions for 'laughing too loud' - made him altogether revolting in Pepper's eyes. Apparently, however, she wasn't alone in this.

"Think Filch ought himself a new overcoat?" she whispered snidely to Albus. "This one looks a little less moth eaten than last years." Albus snorted quietly, and probably would have replied if Headmistress McGonagall hadn't, at that exact moment, clapped her hands dramatically and allowed the tables to become laden with food.

"Good evening!" Pepper glanced up from her late full of chicken legs and hot sauce to see the ghost of Sir Nicholas floating aimlessly above the table. He nodded in greeting, and his head wobbled dangerously with in his high ruffled collar.

"Good evening, Sir Nicholas," Pepper chirped cheerily. The ghost nodded and floated back along the table towards were the older students sat. Across the hall, Sacha and Cameron were chatting it up with the Fat Friar, who was laughing so hard that his transparent belly was shaking.

"How can you use that much hot sauce?" Albus' voice was almost hoarse and Rose's eyes were wide as Pepper piled the hot sauce onto her plate. She just grinned.

When the main course was over and the last traces of treacle tart had disappeared from everyone's plates, Headmistress McGonagall rose from her seat and the Hall fell silent. "You're attention, please," she asked unnecessarily. She already had the attention of the room. "Now that we have eaten, I have a few start-of-term notices to give you all. All students are reminded that the forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden. Our groundkeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor, Professor Hagrid, had informed me that he is rather tired of chasing students out of the woods, so you would do well to remember this." Headmistress McGonagall's eyes found James at the Gryffindor table and she glared, causing him to sink slightly lower in his seat.

"Our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes." James sank even lower in to his chair. "Trials for House Quidditch teams will be held at the team Captain's earliest convenience. Anyone interested in trying out for their House team should contact Madam Hooch for further information." Pepper's ears perked and she noticed Albus sitting up a little bit straighter in his seat as well. "And now, off to bed. First years, please follow your prefects to the dormitories." She clapped her hands again in clear dismissal.

The was a loud groan as benches were forced back from House tables, and the room was filled with a sudden din as hundreds of students began talking all at once and yelling to be heard over one another. Pepper stood, Albus and Rose close behind, and hurried to make it out of the Hall before the rush of students fled in a mass exodus to get to their dormitories. They didn't quite make it, and Pepper found herself at the head of a flood of third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh year Gryffindors as they pushed her up the stairs towards the Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady stood in her frame, guarding the portrait hole as she always did. "Password?" she asked primly.

"One of the prefects downstairs told me," Pepper heard a third year mumble to one of his friends behind her. "Whufflesnout," he told the Fat Lady. She smiled in a benign fashion, and the portrait hole swung open. A wave of heat washed over them all; the fire was already burning merrily in its hearth, as it would conceivably (and Pepper suspected magically) uninterrupted for the duration of the school year.

"See you tomorrow," Albus grinned, squeezing Rose's hand and giving Pepper a swift hug goodnight before following the boys to the left up to his dormitory on the top floor of the tower. Pepper and Rose turned right, climbing up the spiraling staircase that would take them through the girl's tower. Behind them, older students and first years turned off into their own dorms; soon it was just Pepper, Rose and the other Gryffindor second years climbing. They reached the top floor, the door had already been opened and their belongings sat open at the foot of each bed. Pepper's trunk was nearest the window, exactly where she liked it. Perched on the stone sill was Fegan, burrowing his beak deep into his glossy feathers as he preened himself. He glanced up briefly as the girls entered, saw who it was, and returned to his grooming.

_Stuck up, _Pepper thought towards him, using the golden web of music between them to pass along an image of her sticking out her tongue. _Come say hi. _Behind her, Pepper could hear and feel the other girls gasping and craning for a look at the phoenix. Except for Rose, that is; she was sitting calmly on her bed, folding her socks gently and setting them in her drawer. Fegan sent back a mental eye roll –that seemed to be a favorite of his – but hooted softly, ruffling his feathers to be admired.

"This is Fegan," Pepper explained. "He'll be sharing the dorm with us."

A few of the girls patted her on the shoulder, still gazing in admiration. Another muttered under her breath angrily, "Of all the luck…" It stung a little, but Pepper ignored her. She went to her bed at the end of the room and began pulling robes and shoes out of her trunk, lacing them in the dresser next to her bed. Fegan watched curiously.

"You could help, you know," she muttered softly to him, and was met with such a strong glare of affrontment that she burst out laughing. The others stared at her as if she had grown a second head, and Pepper clapped a hand over her mouth. Fegan felt smug. "Shut up," she muttered darkly, pulling her pajama bottoms on and crawling beneath the warm, pressed sheets. Fegan fluttered to her bed post, where he would watch over her in the night.

_It was dark, dark and cold. She shivered, wishing she was wearing something other than her thin, lacey nightgown. Something howled in the distance, and she shuddered violently. "Please!" she cried. "I just want to wake up!"_

_No one answered, and she felt a tear tracing down her cheek. She raised a hand to her face and pulled it away, glistening and wet. But not with tears. "No," she whispered. "No, this is a dream! I want to wake up, this isn't real, its a dream!"_

"_Not a dream." The voice hissed angrily, spitting venomous words into the frigid air. She raised a hand, coated in dripping scarlet blood, to hide her face from the terrible voice. "Welcome to your nightmares, Seer." Fanged teeth appeared, opening wide and enclosing around her, swallowing her in the darkness._

"_No, please!" she tried to scream, but she choked out a mouthful of blood. "Pepper!"_

"Pepper!" Awareness slammed into Grape as she sat up, shivering in her bed. Her throat felt hoarse and hot and sticky with the bloody substance, her face was still wet with the bloody tears. Grape raised a hand to her face but it was dry except for the sheen of sweat that had followed her out of her nightmare. Her pulse raced in her chest and she struggled to slow her breathing. That voice…

Music filled her mind, drifting in softly on the wings of a phoenix, playing a gentle melody that soothed her hot skin and erased the hissing whispers from her mind. Grape fell back against her pillow, exhausted, closing her eyes wearily as the music erased the horrifying memory of her dream. She closed her eyes and slept until the morning; she could no longer remember her dream


	9. The Exploding Toilet

_"If I get one more owl telling me you've - bown up a toilet or -"  
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."  
"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."_

_This chapter is dedicated to Fred and George Weasley for inspiring it and for being so plain awesome. Updated earlier than I planned because today is MY BIRTHDAY! So I present the gift of this chapter to you all..._

* * *

A soft melody played in her ears, and Pepper's first thought upon waking up was what radio station played such haunting tunes so early in the morning. She reached out with her left hand to slap the snooze button on her alarm clock, but her hand only fell on hard wood. She cracked an eye en sleepily. Her outstretched fingers had settled on the handle of her wand, sitting on her beside table in her dorm room at Hogwarts. The music wasn't coming from any alarm clock, and she rolled to her other side with a groan. Beside her n the pillow, Fegan perched, whistling merrily in her ear, informing her that the sun was up, the day was beginning, and he was hungry.

"You know, I hate morning people," she grimaced, forgetting in that moment that she usually was one of those people. Fegan flapped his wings and drifted over her head to land on the bed side tale as Pepper pushed herself up into a sitting position. The others girls in the dorm room were rising groggily as well, grumbling about various things. Rose was dressing in her robes; her vibrant red curls were sticking out in every possible direction. "Morning," Pepper smiled sleepily at her friend.

"Good morning," Rose replied, digging I her drawers for a pair of socks that wasn't maroon in color. "Usually you'd be downstairs eating breakfast by this time," Rose commented, extracting a pair of bright yellow toe socks.

Pepper shrugged. "Just tired today, I guess." Her dreams the night before had been lingering on the verge of nightmares, filled with dark shadows and clocks and a girl's voice screaming her name in terror. And later, filled with music as Fegan sang away the bad dreams. Pepper glanced at the phoenix, who shuffled his taloned feet impatiently, scratching the wood of her bedside table. He sent her an image of the Great Hall, its tables laden with food, and Pepper realized how hungry she was. "All right, Fegan, let's go get something to eat."

Pepper dressed in her school kilt and blouse, wearing her black cloak fastened over her shoulders. She left her hair in its usual untamed mess of curls tumbling down her back. Fegan perched on her shoulder as Pepper skipped down the stairs of the tower next to Rose, towards the Gryffindor common room. Albus was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs, his black hair sticking pin tufts on his head.

"Morning, bed head," Pepper greeted, impulsively reaching out a hand to smooth his unruly locks. James chose that exact moment to come sashaying down the stairs from the boys dormitories, and he wolf whistled upon seeing his brother and Pepper.

"Lucky man, Al," he taunted, and Albs flushed deep scarlet. "That one's a keeper."

"Jealous, James?" Unabashed, Pepper grinned at the older boy. "You could probably use a girl fixing your morning 'do."

"Are you offering?" James grinned, raising his eyebrows suggestively, and Albus clenched his fists. Pepper laughed, tossing her hair back as she took Albus and Rose's hands and led them out of the portrait hole. "Nice bird, by the way!" James called loudly after her.

"So annoying," Albus muttered quietly as they started down the stairs that would take them away from Gryffindor tower towards the Great Hall.

"He's not so bad," Pepper disagreed.

"Try living with him," Albus sounded almost bitter, and Rose nodded in sympathetic agreement. "He was on me all summer, cracking jokes about the two of us every time someone brought you up in a conversation."

"Was I the subject of a lot of your conversations?" Pepper asked with genuine curiosity. Albus's blush, not entirely faded away from the earlier conversation with James, flared up again. He didn't answer, and Pepper felt a small thrilling in her heart as she waited for his reply. Unfortunately, Rose saw Albus's discomfort and saved him the trouble of answering.

"I can smell breakfast, can't you guys?" she chimed in. Fegan's talons were tighter on Pepper's shoulder and he leaned forward towards the scent wafting up from the Great Hall. Pepper sighed and let the conversation drop fro there. She could always ask Al about it later; for now, she was hungry.

Most of the school was already sitting down to breakfast when they arrived in the Great Hall. Head's of Houses were walking up and down rows of students, passing out timetables. At the Hufflepuff table, Sacha and Cameron were just receiving their schedule for the year from a very cheerful Professor O'Maley, the Transfiguration teacher. Professor Quinlin, a tall, broad-shouldered and dark skinned man passed out timetables to an enthusiastic Mikaela and a much less eager Scorpius. Professor Flitwick, one of the oldest members of the faculty, was handing out timetables to a few Ravenclaw third years that sat just a few seats down from a very tired looking Grape. Grape's head was practically resting in her bowl of cereal, and she nodded sleepily to herself as she perused that morning's Daily Prophet with bleary eyes.

Pepper, Albus and Rose sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, where they always did. Pepper reached for a box of Rice Krispies – today felt like a cereal kind of day. Without prompting, Albus passed her a carton of milk – 2%. Pepper blatantly refused to drink anything less than 2%, which she had mentioned briefly to the others during the previous year. She was almost touched that Albus remembered.

"Thanks," she said quietly, and Albus nodded absently as he contemplated merits of scrambled eggs versus bacon. Eventually, he decided on the latter. Pepper looked down to Fegan, now sitting on her knee where he could easily reach her plate to help himself. "What do you want?"

An image of Albus's bacon flashed across the golden connection, and Pepper grabbed the pair of silvered tongs to place several pieces of the meat on her plate next to her cereal bowl. Fegan whistled gratefully before snapping up on of the pieces in his beak and tossing it back into his mouth. He repeated the process, and Pepper dug a spoon into her Rice Krispies.

"Pyramus-Zaniel, Pepper," a familiar voice stated from behind her, and Pepper swallowed quickly before turning in her seat.

'Hey there, Professor Neville," she smiled at her favorite teacher.

"You have Herbology with me and the Slytherins first thing this morning, Pepper," Neville stated kindly as he returned Pepper's grin. "Good morning Albus, Rose." He inclined his head towards the pair. "How are your parents?"

"Mum sends her love," Albus grimaced slightly, and Neville laughed. "Dad wants to know if you're still coming to the England vs. New Zealand Quidditch game with him and Uncle Ron this Saturday."

"Wouldn't miss it." Neville grinned. "Maybe England will have a decent chance at the Cup this year." Albus shrugged.

"Mum doesn't seem to think so. She wrote an article for the Prophet listing all the reason why it wasn't likely gonna happen this year." Pepper knew that Albus's mum, Ginny Potter, was the senior Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet. All summer, Pepper had tried to stay up to date with the Wizarding sport; she figured that if she wanted to play on the school team, she should know the game a little bit better.

Neville shrugged his shoulders with a sigh, and handed schedules to Rose and Albus as well. "I'll see you all after breakfast," he said, turning to the next group of students waiting for their timetables.

"Bye, Professor," Rose smiled, giving a little wave. She turned to the schedule in her hands. "What else do we have?"

"Herbology with the Slytherins, Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws, Lunch, then Double Potions with Slytherin and Transfiguration with Hufflepuff," Albus listed, skimming the timetable quickly. "Professor Longbottom, Professor Quinlin, Professor Lumely and Professor O'Maley."

"I like Professor O'Maley," Rose said brightly. "She's fun."

"She's good," Pepper agreed. "I'm still not sold on Transfiguration though. I much prefer Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions."

"Not just because you think Professor Quinlin is good looking, right?" Rose teased.

"Ick! He's like, 30 or something! He could be my father!" Pepper laughed, and Rose chimed in too. Albus's chuckle was only half-hearted, as if he didn't really approve of even joking about Pepper and Professor Quinlin.

"C'mon, we should get to the greenhouses," Albus muttered quickly. He rose from his seat, pushing his partially uneaten breakfast away from the edge of the table as he did. Rose raised an eyebrow at Pepper but followed suit. Pepper glanced forlornly at her unfinished Rice Krispies, and then turned to Fegan in her lap.

"You can finish eating here, if you like, and then do whatever it is phoenixes do," she said. She felt Fegan's approval as he simply sidestepped off of her lap, his beak still submerged in a mound of bacon. Pepper turned towards her friends. 'I'm ready."

They were joined outside the Great Hall by the rest of the Gryffindor second years, and the group made their way out of the castle doors and around the side of the stone walls to where the greenhouse were located, nestled against the side of the school in an area that, peculiarly, no matter what time of the day it was, always seemed to be in the sunlight. Today, however, the normally clear windows of Greenhouse One had been blacked out, so none of them could see inside. "Do you think we should go in?" A Gryffindor boy, whose name Pepper was pretty sure was Larry, asked. Everyone around him just shrugged.

"I'll go in," Pepper offered casually. She stepped away from the group to enter through the dark door of the Greenhouse. Inside, the air smelled musky and felt damp on her skin. It was dark, but not impossible to see. Everything was illuminated in a soft gray light. The Greenhouse was set up like a traditional classroom, with rows of desks and chairs facing the one wall, where Professor Longbottom stood, clothed in his dark brown robes that he always wore for teaching. "You guys can come in," Pepper called back quietly over her shoulder, before walking forward to the first row of desks nearest to the Professor.

"Hi," she said brightly.

"They were waiting out there," Professor Longbottom sounded amused. Pepper shrugged.

"The dark windows and set up looked creepy," Pepper gestured around with one hand. "What's with the set up in here?" Pepper asked, hoisting her book bag off of her shoulder and plunking it down on the desk in front of her. She sat in the closest chair to the front as she could. By way of answer, Professor Longbottom indicated the potted plant sitting on his desk. The other Gryffindors filed in, closely followed by a group of Slytherins. Rose and Albus set their bags on the desks next to Pepper, while Mikaela opted for the row behind them.

"Hey," Mikaela greeted them nonchalantly. Scorpius followed her in, sitting uncertainly in the seat beside her. Pepper smiled at them both.

"Hey Scorpius," she said politely. "How was your evening?" Scorpius jumped at being spoken to, and his cheeks flooded with color.

"It was… I mean…" he stumbled over his words. Mikaela rolled her eyes.

"She just asked you a question, Scorpius. No need to get all uptight about it." Scorpius hung his head, focusing intently on the notebook that he had just pulled out of his bag. Beside Pepper, Rose was glaring at Scorpius in disgust.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Professor Longbottom called from the front of the room. Pepper turned around in her seat, giving him her full attention. "Thank you. Now, you're probably all wondering about today's set up." Professor Longbottom's eyes swept the curious room. "The plant that we will be dealing with for the next few classes prefers the dark and the damp." Professor Longbottom reached into his robes and withdrew his wand. "This particular species can be highly dangerous so I'd ask you all to please remain calm." He prodded the pot with his wand gingerly.

The plant in the pot instantly sprang to life, whipping long tendrils of mushy gray vines towards Professor Longbottom and his wand. The grip of those tendrils tightened around the empty air as Professor Longbottom stepped away, choking the very oxygen from it with a tight hold. "Devil's Snare is an incredibly rare plant, one that very few Herbologist have access to," he explained as the tendrils rolled back on themselves. "Hogwarts is very lucky to be able to breed and produce the plant."

"Professor?" a Gryffindor in the back raised her hand cautiously; it was the girl from Pepper's dorm who snored. "What exactly is it doing?" Her voice was slightly nervous as the tendrils of Devil's Snare stretched greedily towards the class.

"Devil's Snare has many properties, one of which being that it will attempt to strangle anything that it comes in to contact with," Professor Longbottom explained, and most of the class shrunk back from the deadly plant. "Its unique sense of touch and defense mechanism make it a tool often used by wizards for guarding and protecting valuable items, as well as assassination. The important thing to remember when gripped by Devil's Snare s that if you struggle, its grip will only tighten and kill you faster. If you remain calm and still, you stand a much better chance of escaping."

"How do you escape?" Scorpius surprised Pepper by speaking up.

"As I mentioned earlier, Devils Snare prefers the dark and damp. It has an extreme aversion to heat and light." Professor Longbottom held his wand toward the creeping tendrils. "Lumos," he said calmly, and the dark classroom was illuminated by a bright white light. The plant seemed to scream as it shriveled away from the light. "Producing light or flame is equally as effective in dealing with this particular plant," Professor Longbottom explained as the light from his wand tip faded, ad the Devil's Snare relaxed from its tight recoil. "If you will copy the following down-" he proceeded to explain the history and the many uses of the Devil's Snare.

Pepper copied down the noted dutifully, but her mind wasn't on the words that she was putting to the page. She was staring down the Devil's Snare that, recovered from the sudden light, was now reaching towards her and the rest of the class again. The inescapable darkness stretched its tendrils toward her, wanting to enclose her in its embrace and strange the light from her. _In our night the darkness hides/ To extinguish the fire that Burns. _Pepper sighed and turned back to her parchment.

The air outside the greenhouse seemed hotter than usual after the cool temperatures within. Pepper walked quickly towards the castle, leaving Albus and Rose behind after excusing herself to go use the washroom. She stormed to the second floor, feeling the heat on her sin and underneath it, pushing to the surface. Her face was flushed and her eyes looked wild; her fellow students dodged around her in the halls.

The door to the girl's bathroom was locked, but Pepper didn't care if Moaning Myrtle had shut everyone out to deal with her issues. "Alohamora," Pepper muttered quickly, and the lock on the other side of the door clicked open. Pepper ran to the sink, turning on the tap and letting the cold water run over her palms. It felt soothing and Pepper sighed in relief, until she noticed the steam rising from her heated palms. The ruby charm of her necklace burned with a sudden uncomfortable heat, expressing her need to burn. She gasped and stepped backward noisily.

"Shush," someone whispered in one of the bathroom stalls behind her. Pepper whirled around at the sound. The bathroom was silent for a moment, and then there was an unmistakably male giggle. Pepper strode forward to the stall that housed Myrtle's toilet and threw open the door. "Ahh!" someone screamed.

Cameron and Sacha were hunched over the toilet bowl; staring at Pepper guiltily like small children who had been caught doing something that they knew was naughty. Pepper glimpsed a bag of Dungbombs being shoved behind Sacha's back before he recognized her and sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you, Pepper." He relaxed. "We thought you might be Myrtle coming back."

"What are you two doing in the girl's bathroom?" Pepper skin still felt hot and flushed, but the fire seemed to have settled in her sudden confusion.

Sacha blushed, but Cameron grinned wickedly. "Sticking Dungbombs in Myrtle's toilet," he said with mischievousness that Pepper didn't know he had possessed. "It was Sacha's idea – brilliant, really." Cameron smiled at is friend.

"Is there a point to it?" Pepper squatted down next to them, just outside of the stall door.

"Well, we kind of wanted to blow up, you know, and take the toilet seat home for a souvenir," Sacha explained." We could all sign it and pass it around during the summer like a sort of trophy."

"Or award it to the best prankster at Hogwarts each year," Cameron chimed in. "Of course, Dungbombs aren't going to blow this thing up, but it might keep Myrtle out of the bathroom for a few days while the smoke clears," he said. "In the mean time, we'll figure out how to get the toilet seat."

Pepper only paid partial attention to the conversation. The heat was surging under her skin again, and the voices from the necklace were whispering in her ears as they had before whenever she burned. _Let it free, _they demanded. _Just this once. No harm done. _Pepper speculated that she was going crazy, hearing voices in her head. But she didn't argue with them. She pointed a trembling finger towards the toilet next to Sacha and Cameron.

"Hey what are you…" Sacha's question trailed off as he saw the fiery light fill Pepper's eyes, and the ethereal floating of her hair that occurred when the fire with in her took over. "Cameron, duck!" The pair of them took cover just as the heat left Pepper's body in the form of flame that consumed the porcelain toilet. They scrambled away when, with a loud _crack, _the material shattered in an explosive force that blew pieces of toilet in all directions.

Pepper felt the voices retreat, satisfied that she had done their bidding. Pepper swayed slightly where she stood, feeling the exhaustion that followed the fire, and the heat fading away from the charm of her necklace. She bent down wearily, picking up all that remained of the toilet; its seat. "Here," she said, passing it to a stunned Sacha and an equally stunned Cameron. They both gaped at her.

"Pepper, are you feeling alright?" Cameron asked cautiously. Sacha looked awestruck and admiring, but still slightly fearful as he examined the toilet seat in his hands. Pepper laughed breathily.

"I'm fine," she told them. "Better than fine. I feel great, actually!" The oppressive weight of the heat was gone, and the urgent need to burn had left with it. "I'm going to be late for class. You two enjoy your new toy." Feeling immensely satisfied with herself, she left completely unaware of the frightened looks tat the pair of them exchanged behind her. The feeling of power that had settled over her felt reassuring. Not even the forces of darkness would extinguish her fire.

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_Reviews?_


	10. Guardian

_You guys are kind of incredible. Like. seriously! Can I just say how much I LOVED your reviews! Warm fuzzies all day long! Thank you so very much! To you all now, the next chapter, with love._

_And with Albus, and Fegan, because they are oh so loveable._

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"Albus, Rose, wait up!"

Albus paused in front of the doors to the Great Hall, Rose slightly ahead of him, as Pepper rushed past the crowds to meet them. "Where were you?" he demanded. Pepper grinned briefly and shrugged.

"I ran in to Sacha and Cameron in the bathroom. We blew up a toilet." Albus eyes widened, and Pepper had to laugh. "If any teachers ask, I wasn't involved."

"We waited for you, and you were blowing up a toilet?" Albus shook his head incredulously.

"Waiting on you now, let's go!" Pepper dodged around his disapproving glare and hurried away in the direction of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She heard Albus huff in annoyed response as he hurried to keep up with her.

"Why on earth would you blow up a toilet?" Rose whispered in Pepper's ear as she jogged alongside her. Rose's book bag kept slamming in to Pepper's leg; she was most definitely going to have a Charlie horse there later.

"Sacha and Cameron were sticking dungbombs in Myrtle's toilet because they wanted to get the toilet seat," Pepper said nonchalantly as she turned the corner, almost colliding with a group of fourth year Hufflepuffs. She apologized quickly, the Hufflepuffs grumbled annoyances under their breaths but Pepper ignored them. "I just sped the process up for them a little bit."

"You used your power!" Albus had caught up to them now, and his eyes widened angrily. "Pepper, why would you do that?"

"Its not like it's a big dl, Al," Pepper shrugged, but beneath her skin her anger was roiling again. Who was he to tell her how she could and couldn't use her abilities? Albus sighed, and they slowed to a near halt as the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom came into view around the next corner.

"Yeah, Pep, it kind of is. You have a gift, and you should use it for the greater good. Not just so that you can blow up toilets whenever you feel like it." His tone was calm as he scolded her, but Pepper spun around angrily to face him. Her eyes burned with a wild fire, and Albus flinched back.

"You don't know anything about it, Albus," she sneered at his name. "Stop trying to tell me what to do. You're not my father." Pepper turned and stalked into the classroom, breathing heavily. Part of her felt bad for yelling at Albus like that; she knew he was only concerned for her, but the voices round her were encouraging, egging her on. _You don't need him, _they hissed. _He doesn't understand._

The voices were right; Albus didn't understand. So she didn't walk up the aisles of the classroom to the front, where she normally sat with Albus and Rose. Instead, her eyes scanned the room, searching for Grape. Most of the class was already present; opening their book bags and withdrawing text books and wands, or else poking at the various tanks of magical water creatures that floated around the room. Grape wasn't there, so Pepper slammed her bag down in the remaining empty desk at the back of the classroom, waiting. Beside her table, an ugly squid-like creature with long tentacles drifting behind it leered at her, and Pepper glared back. A spark lit at her finger tips, and the creature whirled around in fright disappearing in to a bed of reeds.

Pepper glanced down at her hand in amazement. She hadn't even thought of using the fire, but it had come to her, readily to her finger tips at even the smallest, practically nonexistent sign of a threat. "Class, if you will please quietly take your seats." Professor Quinlin's deep bass tones carried over the entire classroom, and they all fell silent. "Thank you." He swept – that really was the best word for it, Pepper thought, as Professor Quinlin had too much style to just _walk _anywhere – down the stairs from his office in robes that were a deep eggplant color. His dark eyes carried across the room; for a moment, they rested o Pepper. She gave a brief smile - more of a grimace, and the voices were beginning to hurt her head and the red-hot anger under her skin felt like it was burning - and Professor Quinlin's gaze left her face.

Professor Quinlin flicked his wand, and the holding tank nearest Pepper lifted through the air and across the classroom to settle gracefully on the Professor's desk. "Now, as you may have guessed, for the beginning of this term, we will be studying dark and dangerous magical creatures, and you will learn how to defend yourselves against them." Professor Quinlin's deep voice was calm and reassuring as he looked at some of his more nervous students. "Do not be alarmed, I will be here with you the entire time, and you will not be harmed."

Pepper stole a glance back at the door but it remained shut. Grape still wasn't in class, and Pepper was beginning to worry. Grape never missed class, even when she was sick; she thought that being magical was the greatest blessing of all, and she wasn't about to miss out on a magical education. The worry overcame Pepper's anger, and the voices ceased in her head and she was able to think clearly again. Oh Wizard God… How could she have said those things to Albus? Why on earth had she thought it was a good idea to blow up a toilet!?

"The Grindylow is a small, horned water demon that is native to lakes in Great Britain and Ireland," Professor Quinlin explained, and around her, Pepper heard the scratch of quills against parchment. Although they primarily feed on fish, algae and small sea creatures, the Ministry has classified Grindylows as Dark Creatures. They are incredibly aggressive and hostile towards witches, wizards and Muggles alike, ad they will not hesitate to devour human flesh if they can." A few of the students shuddered at that statement. "Now, as creatures of the dark and damp, Grindylows fear one thing above all others; fire." Well, that explained it running from the sparks at Pepper's fingers. Could she even summon the fire if she was under water?

"Excuse me, sir?" The door at the back of the class creaked open, and a first year boy that Pepper recognized from the Ravenclaw table poked his head in, visibly trembling. Professor Quinlin paused his lecture, his expression somewhat annoyed but still kind.

"What is it?" he asked in his bass tones. The Ravenclaw boy stepped timidly in to the classroom, scurrying up the aisle towards Professor Quinlin with a note in his hand. Professor Quinlin's dark eyes perused the notes briefly, and then he turned to the class. "Would Albus Potter, Rose Weasley and Phillippa Zaniel please accompany this by to the hospital wing? It would seem that one of your friends is in occupancy there."

Grape. Pepper stood abruptly in her seat, shoving the wooden bench back with a loud scraping sound. At the front of the room, Albus and Rose did the same. Pepper hastily shoved her books into her shoulder bag, and without waiting for the others, she turned and sped out of the classroom. She could hear the pounding of feet on stone behind her as Albus and Rose hurried to catch up. He first year Ravenclaw followed them out of the classroom, at first following with heavy, panting breaths, but eventually he sowed and came to a halt, resting his hands on his knees and staring at the three older students who hurtled through the passageways of Hogwarts towards the hospital wing.

It had to be Grape, Pepper reasoned as she ran. Grape hadn't been in class today. Grape hadn't looked all too well at breakfast that morning. Grape was the most fragile and vulnerable of them all. Pepper hadn't even said good morning to Grape, figuring that she would see her in class. She had been so wrong. "Pepper, slow down!" Rose gasped behind her as Pepper flew up the stairs, taking them two steps at a time. The doors to the hospital wing were open and Pepper rushed inside.

"Grape!" The tiny girl glanced up from her hospital bed on the left side of the room. She was half sitting up, half lying down, and she wasn't even tall enough to tae up half of the bed. Sacha and Cameron were already sitting by Grape's bedside, they looked up at Pepper with wide eyes and soot covered faces. Pepper practically dove for the bed, sitting next to Grape's pillow and wrapping her arms around the smaller girl.

"Pepper, I'm fine," Grape protested even as she leaned against Pepper body. She trembled a little, and her eyes were dark and shadowed with exhaustion. Pepper rubbed her arms soothingly.

"What happened?" she demanded, and Grape opened her mouth to respond dismissively when she was interrupted by Madam Pomphrey, the elderly school nurse as she bustled across the room, holding a vial of purple liquid and a small goblet.

"She fainted in the middle of her class," Madam Pomphrey tutted, pouring the viscous purple substance into the goblet. "Exhaustion, lack of sleep." Madam Pomphrey sighed, handing the goblet to a still protesting Grape. "Drink this, it will help you fall asleep," she ordered before scurrying back to her office. Grape grimaced at the potion in the goblet before setting it aside on her table.

"Grape, you need to drink that," Rose said quietly, reaching across Grape's bed for the goblet. Grape pouted, but her eyes were frightened.

"I don't want to sleep," she complained. "I have bad dreams."

"Is that what has been keeping you awake?" Cameron asked calmly, but with a voice full of concern. Grape gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. "Has this been happening for a long time?"

"It started during the summer," Grape said in a hushed whisper. "They keep me awake. I don't want to sleep, I'll see them again," her lip trembled, and tears welled up in her dark violet eyes.

"I'll stay with you," Pepper volunteered. The others looked slightly nervous, but Pepper only had eyes for Grape. "Would that help?"

"I heard singing last night," Grape said quietly. "It helped me sleep. It was Fegan."

_Fegan. _Pepper thought his name, and a dim chord of recognition came across their bond. Pepper's vision was stolen suddenly with an image of dark water rushing beneath her, and the feeling of wind through her feathers and under her wings as she few towards a minuscule castle in the distance. The alchemists' symbol at her throat burned, and Pepper's eyes cleared. "He's coming," Pepper told her smallest friend. "He'll watch you sleep, if you do as Madam Pomphrey tells you."

Grape cast a hurried glance at each one of her friends. "Will you try to be here when I wake up?" she asked softly.

"Absolutely," Albus murmured. He leaned forward to take Grape's tiny hand. Rose passed the goblet to Grape, and she tipped its contents into her mouth. Almost immediately, Grape's eyelids bean to droop, heavy with sleep.

"Hey Pepper," Grape slurred quietly. Pepper squeezed Grape, so she knew that her friend was listening. "I know why you… burn," Grapes voice drifted of, and her sentence ended in a small snore. Pepper slipped her hands out from around Grape, and she laid Grape's small head back against the pillow, her raven locks swirling around her.

Pepper turned to her friends once more. Albus still held Grape's hand, his expression one of tender concern. Rose was taking the goblet from Grape's limp fingers, careful not to spill any of the remaining sleeping potions. Sacha and Cameron had their eyes on Grape as well, but every so often they would shift their glances towards Pepper almost fearfully. Pepper felt a twinge of regret, for scaring her friends. "I'm sorry," she muttered quietly.

"What for?" Albus asked, not taking his eyes off of Grape. Rose sat on the bed next to Pepper, watching her carefully. Sacha and Cameron turned towards Pepper with guilty eyes, and Pepper sighed.

"I scared you guys. I didn't mean to try to blow you guys up," Pepper glanced pointedly at Sacha and Cameron, who hid their fear with a shrug. "I just kind of lost control, I was angry and afraid and I couldn't stop it." Pepper hung her head in shame. "And I yelled at you, Al, and you were only trying to help."

"You didn't mean it," Albus assured her, but Pepper wasn't so sure.

"Didn't I?" The question was more for herself than the others. She, Pepper Zaniel, had no desire to harm any of her friends. But what about Pepper Pyramus? The girl who controlled the wild fire that burned within them both, the girl who took over when the voices came. The girl with a temper that burned as quickly and as hot as the flames she manipulated. What was her desire?

A soft musical cooing rifted into the room, and Fegan's wings filled the window to the hospital wing as he slowed his flight. He entered the room and circled the ceiling twice before landing on the bedpost right next to Grape's head. He blinked at Pepper with liquid black eyes.

"Keep an eye on Grape, please," Pepper begged of him quietly. She felt a dim chord of reproach, but her tone was insistent. "I'll be okay; you don't need to watch me right now. Mae sure Grape is safe. Keep her nightmares away." Fegan blinked once in understanding, and he turned to Grape, letting the soft feathers of his tail brush against her olive toned skin. He hummed a single note; a high pitch that eased the taught set of Grape's sleeping features. "Let's let her sleep," Pepper whispered to her friends, and they left the hospital wing, leaving Grape alone with her guardian

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_So, what'cha think of that! Let me know! _

_Love you guys! Warm fuzzies all around!_


	11. Not Alone

_You guys who review: You're AWESOME!. You guys who read and follow this: You're pretty damn fantastic too!_

_Had AVPM's "Not Alone" stuck in my head the entire time I wrote this. Sacha makes dirty jokes._

In short, I kinda love this chapter :). I hope you do too!

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Madame Pomphrey kept Grape under observation in the hospital wing for another two days before she released her, strictly prohibiting any overexertion and strongly recommending an earlier curfew. Grape accepted the elderly woman's advice with a nod and a discreet eye roll to Pepper, but as far as her friends could tell, she was taking the advice. She didn't look as tired when she came down for breakfast in the mornings. Pepper sent Fegan to watch over her every night, even when her own sleep was uneasy. Grape was more important.

They were sitting underneath their usual tree along the edge of the Black Lake, the tree where Club Awesome had officially been formed not even a year before. This time, Pepper sat high up in the branches, close enough that she could see and talk to them, but far enough away that she wasn't concerned about hurting them. Ever since the 'Exploding Toilet' incident, as it was now called, Pepper had been avoiding her friends. Not outright ignoring them, because they would never let her get away with that. But she no longer initiated conversation, she didn't clamber onto Sacha's shoulders for a piggy back ride, and she avoided being alone with any one of them for long periods of time.

At first, they had been a little hurt. Pepper could see tears brimming in Grape's eye when she flinched back from a spontaneous hug, and she was always met with Albus' frown when she made excuses to avoid spending too much time with them. Pepper didn't want to hurt them; the opposite, in fact. She was avoiding them for their own sake. Until she had a handle on her powers, she wouldn't trust herself near them. She couldn't.

It was cold for an October afternoon. It was still early in the month, but a definitive nip of winter was in the air. Pepper breathed into her hands to keep them warm as she leaned down from her branch to see her friends. Sacha had Grape wrapped in a bear hug underneath his cloak to keep her warm. She, miraculously, was sleeping in his arms. Her nose twitched every so often, but she seemed peaceful. Rose and Albus were warming their own hands on a pack of Exploding Snap cards as they attempted to build a card tower on the flattest surface they could find on the ground. Cameron sat against the tree and watched, occasionally suggesting a strategy.

"Ouch! That's gotta sting," Sacha hissed sympathetically as the entire tower crumbled in a series of blasts of flaming air. Rose and Albus flung themselves back from their now ashen tower. From up in her perch, Pepper felt the heat rising from the failed card tower. It pressed against her skin, filling her with longing as the necklace burned against her throat. Pepper drew in a sharp breath, one that Albus heard. He glanced up at her, his eyes widening when her saw her suddenly pained expression.

"Shoot! Sorry, Pep!" Albus flinched. Pepper grimaced, waving a hand dismissively downwards. She focused on breathing slowly, in and out, until the last traces of heat had left her skin and she could feel the cool air once more. "Better?"

"Yeah," Pepper smiled down at Albus. Of all her friends, he was the least accepting of the whole enforced separation that she had going on. While he was cautious around her, that didn't stop him from small actions like taking her hand or playful punches. He even tried the occasional pep talk, but Pepper usually shut him down.

"See, that wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Albus grasped at the opportunity eagerly. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Not bursting into flames after a game of Exploding Snap isn't exactly what I'd call control, Al," she tutted. Albus shrugged, a small smile playing at his lips.

"It's a start." Pepper rolled her eyes again.

"What's a start?"

Pepper twisted her head around just in time to catch a glimpse of Mikaela before she sat down on the frigid ground next to Albus. Her long blonde hair was held back by furry earmuffs, prompting Sacha to snigger. Mikaela turned around to face him and glared. "Something funny, hoser?"

"Nope," Sacha grinned. Mikaela huffed and turned back to the others.

"I'm bored. Entertain me."

"You're bored?" Albus openly grinned. "Wizard God forbid that Mikaela should be bored. What were you doing, before you came and interrupted a very serious and potentially promising conversation?"

"Scorpius and I were taking a walk, chatting it up." Mikaela shrugged. "Rather, I was chatting. He doesn't really talk all too much." Mikalea leaned back slightly, straining her neck to see someone in the distance. "Scorpius! A little faster, if you please!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Pepper could see a pale blonde figure jogging towards the group, his cheeks reddened from cold or embarrassment. Her main focus was on Rose, however. As soon as Scorpius' name was mentioned, Rose had stiffened, sitting ramrod straight and adopting a glaring expression. Scorpius puffed to a halt beside Mikaela and stood there, uncertainly, for several moments. "Hi," he mumbled into the collar of his cloak.

There was a brief pause, during which none of the others spoke. Pepper knew that in some cases, like Albus and Rose, their families held a long grudge against Scorpius and his father. Cameron was indifferent, and Sacha just really didn't like Slytherins (with the exception being Mikaela, but he was more afraid of her than anything). Pepper didn't have anything against him, however, so she was the one who spoke first. "Hey, Scorpius." She noticed Mikaela sending a grateful smile her way.

"Hey, Pepper," Scorpius smiled the first genuine smile that she had ever seen on his face. He lifted his head slightly out of its burrow and stood slightly more upright. Pepper glared meaningfully at Albus, her stare practically boring a hole into the side of his head. He met her gaze and sighed.

"So, Scorpius," Albus said tentatively. "My dad and I were talking about House teams this year, and he mentioned that your Dad used to play Seeker. Were you thinking of trying out?" Pepper nodded approvingly. Scorpius opened his mouth, fumbling for an answer, but was interrupted by Rose's derisive snort.

"Him? Play Seeker?" She laughed. "My Dad says that Malfoy had absolutely zero talent. Let alone a little extra to pass on to his son." Sacha sniggered, an almost involuntary laugh. Scorpius flushed again, and his eyes narrowed angrily.

"I'd like to see you try and get on a broomstick, Weaselby," he sneered. His perfectly gelled blonde locks had fallen loose and were now hanging above his trembling face. Sacha leaned over towards Cameron.

"That's what she said," he whispered quietly.

Pepper would have laughed, if not for Rose suddenly rising to her feet; her blue eyes flashing and her cheeks coloured to match her hair. "Shut up, Malfoy."

Scorpius laughed. "That was clever, Weaselby, really witty. You should write a book of clever retorts." Rose clenched her fists angrily.

"That's enough!" Mikaela jumped to her feet, standing between the two of them. "What are you guys, seven?" She turned angrily to Rose. "You're my friend. I expected more. And you," she twisted to glare at Scorpius, "stop acting like you father. Come one." She grabbed Scorpius stiffly by the arm and dragged him away from the tree. "Sorry guys," she called back over her shoulder.

As soon as Scorpius and Mikaela were out of sight, Albus spun to face his cousin. "Rose," he placed a hand on her shoulder, "what were you thinking? What's the matter with you?" He didn't say it accusingly, more so incredulously. Rose shrugged his hand off and stalked away. Albus turned to follow her, but Pepper leaped down from her perch to land in front of him.

"I got it," she assured him, placing a hand on his chest. Albus looked shocked; she hadn't willingly touched anyone in weeks. "It's more of a girl thing. See you at supper, okay?" Albus nodded, and Pepper took off after her red-haired friend.

Rose tore a path around the edge of the lake, stomping through high grass and leaping over small, pebbled beaches until she reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The castle loomed in the distance, still huge despite how far away it must have been. Hagrid's hut sat a short distance away; smoke still leaked from the chimney, but the house seemed empty. Pepper followed Rose until she suddenly threw herself down onto a stump of wood near the edge of the forest. Pepper crouched beside her, squatting with her hands clasped in front of her. Neither one of them spoke. Then: "I hate him!"

"I know," Pepper said simply.

"I don't even know why I hate him, either! I mean, our Dad's kind of loathe each other, but that's them, right? It's not me, it's not us!" Rose sighed angrily. "It's just that every time I see him, I just get so angry! He doesn't even have to say anything!"

"Well, he doesn't say much, anyways." Pepper said wryly, almost smiling. Rose threw her hands up in the air.

"Exactly! And I think that makes it worse! At least if he was mean and arrogant and rude like his father, I'd have a reason to hate him!" Rose sighed again, now hunching over and placing her chin in both hands. "My dad always talks about how Malfoy... Draco Malfoy was a jerk when they went to school. His father was a Death Eater; Malfoy became a Death Eater... I look at Scorpius and I expect to see his father, I guess." They sat in companionable silence for a little bit longer.

"I understand why you hate him," Pepper began cautiously," ... Actually, I don't really. But I can sympathize. It won't be easy, but you need to get to know Scorpius for who he is. I know I'm one to talk, since I don't really know the guy either, but I can tell that he really doesn't want to be his father. And you shouldn't have to be yours." Rose was nodding, but her eyes were still distant, and she didn't move. The silence stretched longer this time, verging on awkward.

"We're not afraid of you, you know."

Pepper turned her face towards Rose, her eyebrows raised. The red head stared back at her, her tone very matter-of fact. "I get it; you don't trust yourself with your abilities around us. We appreciate that, really. But we're not afraid of what you might do."

"I could hurt you guys." It stung a little, admitting that. Because Pepper would never, ever want to hurt one of her friends. But that didn't change the fact that it could still happen. "I could lose control. I don't want to burn you."

"But you don't want to hurt us." Rose reasoned. "So much so that I don't think you ever could. You're only hurting yourself by refusing our help. We want to help you, Pep. We're your friends. If you ever need us, let us know. If you need us to give you some space, tell us. Otherwise, we're going to continue to help you look for answers."

"You guys have been looking?"

Rose nodded. "We spend some of our free time in the library. Albus even got a note from McGonagall for permission to use the restricted section. We're trying to trace your family back to the Originals, and see if we can figure out your prophecy." Rose reached for her hand and briefly squeezed her fingers. "You're not alone, Pepper."

She tried to answer, but Pepper found she couldn't speak around the sudden obstruction in her throat. She only smiled as a few tears leaked out of her eyes and down her cheeks. "I know," she whispered hoarsely, so quietly that she didn't know if Rose could even hear her. She cleared her throat. "I know." The sat there holding hands, staring out at the lake until Pepper could no longer feel her fingers, and Rose suggested that they go in for supper. Rose held on to Pepper the entire walk back to the castle.

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	12. Making Chaser

_You guys are really great! I love reading your reviews! It makes me giddy, and my family concerned for my mental well being :)_

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The night before Quidditch tryouts, Pepper hardly slept at all. She tossed and turned for hours, unable to get comfortable, unable to close her eyes. The room was too dark, or too quiet, and her thoughts just wouldn't settle. Once, and only once, did she drift off into an uneasy slumber, only to wake up again; panting after a nightmare she couldn't remember. She only remembered the dark, and the cold, and a voice hissing in her ear maliciously before she tore out from underneath her sheets and found herself lying on the cold stone floor. Unconsciously, she had reached out for Fegan, but he was asleep, perched next to Grape in Ravenclaw tower. Where he should be.

Pepper crawled back into her bed reluctantly, but after her nightmare she didn't even attempt to fall back asleep. She faced her window and watched as the sun slowly rose into the sky, tingeing the clouds with pink and gold and the new day began. As soon as the sun had just become visible over the tops of the trees, she rolled out of her bed and began pulling on her Muggle clothing set aside for the weekends. She wore her most worn out pair of jeans; they were more comfortable than anything else when riding a broom stick. Then, walking slowly and quietly as to not wake any of her dorm mates, Pepper crept out of the room and down the stone cold stairs into the common room.

Even the Fat Lady was still sleeping as Pepper exited the Gryffindor Tower through the portrait hole. She was snoring and muttering the previous month's password silently under breath. Pepper bit back a snort of laughter before hopping down the stairs two at a time. Amazingly, she wasn't tired at all, despite having been up most of the night and not being a morning person on the best of occasions. Her brain still felt fuzzy and sleep ridden, but physically, she was wide awake.

The doors to the Great Hall were still shut, and when Pepper tugged on one of the iron cast handles, the great wooden doors wouldn't budge. Clearly it was still too early for breakfast. Pepper toyed with the idea of waiting for the doors to open and then grabbing an early breakfast, but decided she wasn't really hungry just then. She would eat after Quidditch tryouts, which were being held early in the morning, soon after breakfast was winding to a close. Instead, she turned and wandered out of the front entrance, the doors of which were mercifully unlocked.

There was still a slight nip in the air, which made Pepper glad that she had pulled on her Gryffindor sweater. The fabric of the sweater must have been enchanted, because she was never too hot or too cold when wearing it. The ground was wet with dew as Pepper crossed the grounds in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. The flags on each viewing tower waved gently in the slight breeze. Pepper walked right up to the school broom shed – she still didn't have a broom of her own – and tried the door. Locked.

"Alohamora," she said, slipping her wand out of her sleeve and into her waiting fingers to point at the doors handle. With a click, the shed swung open. Pepper reached around the cob webs to grab the nearest Cleansweep, thankful that it was a newer model. She shut the door behind her and walked out onto the pitch.

It was completely silent as Pepper mounted her broom and pushed off the cold, hard ground into the air. The combination of her speed and the wind blowing across the pitch tossed her sleep rumpled curls around her face in a tangle. Pepper closed her eyes and just focused onto the thrumming of the broomstick under her hands. It was a relaxing feeling; to just let go and focus on nothing but the flying. This year, Pepper would make the team for sure. She had to. Quidditch would provide a nice distraction whenever the fire or the voices were tickling the edges of her thoughts, trying to push their way in again.

Pepper had joined her friends in their research, but so far they hadn't been able to find anything about the Original family that she didn't already know. The prophecy was documented in some of the oldest, most mildewed books that the school's library had to offer, but they already knew the words that haunted Pepper's dreams. They kept looking, though, looking for any clues. Any signs that would help Pepper gain control. In the meantime, she practiced. She lit candles or played with the flames in the common room. She only ever burned small, slowly working her way up to bigger things that required more control.

Pepper flew for what only felt like minutes, but it must have been hours, because soon Albus was standing in the centre of the pitch, shouting her name. Pepper dove and glided to a smooth halt right beside her friend. He smiled, holding out a stack of toast. "I figured you'd be out here," he explained. "I also figured that you would have skipped breakfast. I doused them in hot sauce, just the way you like it."

"Thanks," Pepper smiled, plopping down to sit cross-legged on the pitch. Albus squatted beside her, watching as she inhaled the toast, piece by piece.

"Couldn't sleep?" He phrased it as a question, but he must have already known the answer. Pepper shrugged.

"I tried. Couldn't, though. Thought I'd get in a little extra practice before tryouts today." Albus snorted.

"Practice? You don't need to practice, Pep. You're a shoe-in for the team."

"You can't know that," Pepper protested.

"Actually, he can."

James' voice carried from behind them, and Pepper turned. He was walking towards them, already dressed in his Gryffindor Quidditch robes that identified him as a member of the House team. "Adam's all over having you on the team this year. He was super impressed last year. Weren't you, Adam?" James glanced back over his shoulder at his new Captain and the team's Keeper.

"I can't make any promises," Adam said noncommittally, but he was smiling. "All I can say is that I'm really glad you came out again, Pepper. You sure showed us a thing or two last year." Pepper grinned.

"I like to think I still have a few surprises left in me," she laughed. The toast was gone, and she wiped the last crumbs away and onto the ground as she stood, grasping at her borrowed broom stick again. Albus stood too, taking his own Firebolt into his hands – a Christmas gift from his father, as he had explained to Pepper earlier while she gawked at his gift.

"I certainly hope so," Adam nodded, before turning the rest of his team. The pitch was rapidly starting to fill; students who had finished breakfast from all Houses were coming down to watch, and hopefuls for the open positions of Chaser and Seeker were lining up. Pepper glimpsed Sacha and Grape sitting in the audience, jumping up and down and waving frantically at Rose and Cameron who had just entered the pitch. "All right! Everybody line up!"

The current members of the Quidditch team fell into formation of both sides of Adam, standing with their brooms ready in front of them. All of the hopefuls fell into line across from them. Pepper recognized two students, a third year and a fifth year, who had gone out for Chaser last year. "Thanks, all of you guys, for coming out this year. We've got two spots open on the team; you all know that our Seeker and one of our Chasers graduated last year." Adam spoke quietly, as he always did, but everyone was hanging on to his words. "We have three people going for Chaser, and four Seekers. As much as this sucks, only one from each grouping is going to get the position." James smiled encouragingly at Pepper and winked at his brother. "Chasers go first. James?"

"Alright," James smirked as the attention was directed at him. Just the way he liked it. "This is similar to last year. We're going to test your flight capabilities, practice a few formations, and some passes. You'll all get a couple shots at Adam, here. You three have done this before, so I expect great things." Pepper rolled her eyes visibly at James, and Adam bit back a snigger. "Let's go."

As soon as James spoke, Pepper was in the air. The others took a moment longer, rising to meet her. James laughed. "Alright, Pep-N-Step," he taunted. "Let's see what you've got." James tore off across the pitch. Pepper laughed, leaning forward against her broom as she shot after him. She didn't have much of a chance of catching him; James was on his own Firebolt, and all she had was an old Cleansweep. But she managed to catch on to his tail, and hold there for the entire flight. His cloak flapped in her face a few times, but she dodged around it.

"Hawkshead!" James shouted from ahead of her. Pepper fell into formation to James' right, lightly behind him in the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. The third year fell in on James' other side several seconds later, while the fifth year was left drifting. Adam drifted into the air next to James and tossed him a Quaffle, which James caught easily. Suddenly, James split off from the rest of them, moving into a new formation. Pepper caught on, looping far out to one side before turning back in and swooping towards Adam in the Parkin's Pincer. She swerved off just in time to avoid hitting him, and Adam grinned widely at her before retreating to his hoops. James fell in front of her.

"Porskoff Play!" she shouted at him, surprising James by giving the orders. Pepper dropped several feet downwards as James rose into the air. He dropped the Quaffle and it fell into her waiting hands. James slid in behind her as Pepper moved in on Adam. She was close enough that she could see his eyes following her intently. She lifted her hand with the Quaffle as if to make a shot, but instead tossed a reverse pass back to James before peeling off. Adam's eyes widened and Pepper heard the satisfying ring signaling that the Quaffle had gone in. "10 points to Gryffindor," she muttered, smiling. James pointed downwards, and Pepper settled onto the ground again.

"Very good, Pepper. All of you guys," James spoke encouragingly to the other Chaser hopefuls, but he only had eyes for Pepper. "I want you to take some penalty shots at Adam now. 5 apiece. You first," he ordered, tossing the Quaffle at the surprised 5th year. He took off into the air as Pepper caught her breath. "You're showing off," James muttered, sidling in beside her.

"Is it that obvious?" Pepper grinned. James just shrugged.

"Nice work." The two of them turned their attention towards the penalty shots now being taken. The fifth year scored 2 out of five. The three he missed, Adam caught with obvious ease. In his defense, however, the two goals he scored involved some rather ingenious feinting. The third year got three past Adam's guard. The other two fell out of the air before they could even reach the hoops. Pepper mounted her broom after giving a high five to each of the other Chaser hopefuls. Taking the Quaffle in her hand, she rose into the sky.

She scored 4 out of 5 penalties. The last one, Adam managed to snag on the ends of his fingers. It was a good save, and Pepper congratulated him as the two of them flew down from the hoops. Adam broke off to go talk with the rest of his team, and Albus walked over to stand beside Pepper. "Congrats on making the team," he whispered, smiling. Pepper rolled her eyes as the team broke from their huddle and came to stand in front of the team hopefuls.

"Thank you to all the Chasers who came out today. We really appreciate it. Our new Chaser, however, is Pepper Pyramus-Zaniel." Pepper grinned as everyone around her applauded, some rather half-heartedly. "Pepper, you're welcome to stay here with us to watch the Seeker's tryout. The others, thank you, and you can go watch from the stands. Seekers, mount up!"

This time, Adam led the flight trials as Pepper stood next to James, smiling as she watched Albus lap the other contestants. They brought out a Snitch - not the one used for actual games, but a spare – and had each Seeker try to catch it. Albus succeeded in five minutes, as did a third year girl. The others were sent to the bleachers as Albus and the girl were sent to hunt down the missing Snitch, which could be anywhere on the pitch now. Several minutes passed, and Pepper lost sight of Albus as he weaved like a blur around the towers and up into the clouds that had drifted across to fill the sky. It looked like rain, and lightning could be seen beginning to flash within the thick rolls of fog.

"Got it!" Albus' triumphant yell came from behind Pepper, and she turned to see him drifting down from the direction of the castle, his right fist clutched around the tiny, feebly fluttering Snitch. The third-year girl sulked, her lips pouting ridiculously as Adam named Albus as the new Gryffindor Seeker. Thunder rolled across the sky, and with a loud crack, rain began to pour down on all of them. The few viewers left in the stands began screaming as they all held book bags and scraps of paper over their heads as they took off in the direction of the castle. Pepper laughed, raising her arms out as she felt the cool rain on her skin. "Good job, Pepper!"

"You too, Al!" She grinned as she wrapped her friend in a soggy embrace. The rest of the team patted the pair on their backs as they left the field. James grinned and winked at Pepper as he retreated, but Pepper didn't care. She grabbed onto Albus' hand and skipped through the rain all the way to the castle, laughing as she tugged him behind her. He didn't stop smiling until she let go

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	13. Research

Pepper loved the library at Hogwarts more than she did any other room in the castle. She loved the feeling of being surrounded by tall, teetering stacks of books arranged in endless mazes throughout the room. She loved the smell of old parchment and new ink that filled the air, accompanied with the musty, mildewed smells of age. In her mind, no room was more magical than the library. So she wasn't exactly put out when she was forced to spend many hours of her free time locked away amongst the towers of old novels and spell books.

For almost a month, Pepper and her friends searched through every book they could possibly think of that might hold a reference to the Pyramus family and Pepper's gift. The Pyramus family was actually somewhat easy to find: most books on Wizarding history at least detailed one paragraph to the 'moste ancient and magickale wizarding house'. But there was never much there, and the more they searched, the more Pepper realized that her family's entire past was shrouded in mystery.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Sacha sighed, rolling off of his stomach and onto his back from where he lay on the floor of the library, perusing an old, possibly blood-stained book. The fronts of his robes were coated in dust, and there was a Sacha-shaped spot on the floor that looked darker than the rest. Grape giggled, and Sacha looked down at himself. "Shoot."

Pepper calmly withdrew her wand from its pocket and pointed it at her still cursing friend. "_Tergeo." _The dust vanished, siphoned away by Pepper's spell.

"Thanks," Sacha murmured quietly, brushing a hand down his front and pulling it away examining it for dust. "How did you do that?"

"Do you want me to answer that question first, or your original question? Pepper drawled softly, turning her eyes back to _Ancient Wizarding History. _Pyramus... Pyramus... She ran her hand down a list of names and subjects in the index at the back of the book. Ahh. There it was. Pepper flipped through the pages of the thick and heavy book.

"The second one first, please, and then the more pressing question," Sacha answered after serious debate. He sat up, drawing his knees up to his chin level as he leaned back against one of the many book shelves in the library. Pepper was sitting at the nearest study table, lighting her space with one of the heavy brass lamps stationed there. Grape sat across from Pepper, her feet swinging above the ground as she sorted through books even larger than herself. The rest of the group was doing homework in their respective common rooms; Pepper had only just sent them away from helping them.

"Answer number one, Magic," Pepper smiled quietly. "The same way we do almost anything in this school. And question number two? You're helping me research my family's history and the origins of the Phoenix prophecy because you want to help me understand where my abilities come from. Also, it'd be nice if I could learn to control my gift before I set any one of you guys on fire by accident."

"Okay... those are good answers." Sacha said after a pause. His expression was so bemused that Grape giggled, and Pepper had to smirk after glancing up from her book. Sacha did his best to put on a dignified expression. "So, what have we found so far?"

"And here I thought you were helping," Pepper stuck out her tongue, and Sacha shifted, pulling his selected book out from behind him and onto his lap.

"I'm helping! See!" He flipped a page of the book. His eyes scanned the page quickly and his face suddenly paled.

"What is it?" Pepper grinned. Sacha cleared his throat and shifted his eyes anywhere but the book in his lap, but he dutifully read it.

"In the most severe cases of Spattergoit, alchemist would have their patrons stand outside on the full moon, naked in a barrel full of eel's eyes..." His voice trailed off.

"Ew."

"There are pictures too. Very, very detailed pictures." Sacha shivered. "Want to see?" Sacha held the book out towards her, and Pepper slammed it shut before any of the graphic images could be burned into her own mind.

"Put that thing away! I don't think it's what we're looking for anyways." She shuddered. Grape was almost falling off of her chair in a giggling fit.

"How will we know what we're looking for until we've found it?"

Grape stopped her laughing and stared at Sacha, wide-eyed. "That was deep," she said, shocked. "Sacha, are you feeling okay? Are you cursed?" Her expression remained completely serious for a moment, but at the sight of Sacha's dawning indignation as he got her joke was too much and she dissolved into a fit of giggles again.

"I object to that! I'm deep! I'm like... the _abyss_ deep!"

Pepper snorted. "Whatever, abyss deep. You keep telling yourself that. In the mean time, can you help out a little here? Pretty please? Do so, and I'll buy you a lifetime supply of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans."

Sacha grimaced, but he dutifully grabbed the next volume out of a stack. "I thought you were supposed to be bribing me, not attempting torture. What have you found?"

Pepper shrugged in an attempt to belittle her disappointment. "The same stuff that we already knew. Mayella and Holger were thought to be the first witch and wizard. Each of their seven children began their own line of supposedly 'pureblood' witches and wizards. Only the eldest Pyramus, however, is truly pureblood."

"Yeah, how does that work, anyways?" Sacha mused out loud. "I mean, what if they married a muggle and had, like, three kids. Are they all half bloods, or what?"

"Let's say if I were to marry a muggle and have three kids. The first born would be a pure blood, because... well, I don't really get it either, but just because. Magical blood or something. The other two kids would be considered half bloods." Pepper struggled to explain it. Sacha was right; it really didn't make any logical sense.

"That doesn't seem very fair," Grape said quietly from her perch. Pepper almost laughed.

"Haven't you heard? Life isn't fair." She turned her attention back to the book. "Now, all this says is that Mayella and Holger's first born, Pruedence, was destined to give birth to the greatest of the wizarding lines. But a dangerous prophecy... doesn't specify more beyond that... but anyways, a dangerous prophecy, made by the youngest sister, Giselle-"

"My middle name is Giselle," Grape piped up unexpectedly. Pepper stopped her reading and turned to stare at her smallest friend. Grape seemed to shrink under the sudden attention. "I just thought it was an interesting point," she said meekly.

"Didn't the patrons of the orphanage name you?" Pepper wondered. Grape shook her head.

"My name was written on an envelope that they found with me. The Headmistress of the orphanage thought it was a little weird, but she named me that anyways. It's on my birth certificate," Grape explained.

"Wait," Sacha interrupted. "So... your name is Grapelle Giselle Evine?" Grape nodded, and Sacha laughed. "That's brilliant! Who comes up with that?"

"Sacha," Pepper scolded him. "Be nice."

"I don't mind," Grape whispered into her collar, blushing. "The other kids used to make fun of me for it all the time. Last year though, when I came back from school, I told them that they were just jealous of how awesome it was. I said that my friends would turn them into toads if they didn't shut up."

"Really?" Pepper bit back her grin. "And they believed you?"

Grape shrugged. "I guess. They stopped teasing me."

"Good." Pepper grinned. "I'd hate to have to turn anyone into a toad, but I would if you asked."

"Me too."

"Sacha, who are you kidding, you can't even turn a rat into a satisfactory water goblet." Pepper teased. Sacha huffed, crossing his arms.

"You're just jealous of how awesome I am." Pepper laughed poking him in the arm.

"And don't you forget it."

"I apologize. Am I interrupting something?" A deep voice asked from behind Pepper. She turned and found herself staring up at the tall, imposing figure of Professor Quinlin. His face was set into a rigid, stern expression, and Pepper suddenly felt the need to hide under the table. Grape did.

"No, sir. We were just doing some research," Pepper explained.

"Research," Professor Quinlin repeated, his eyes scanning the table. Pepper shifted her arm to cover up the paragraph she had found on the Pyramus family. "It didn't sound like research."

"We decided that we should take a bit of a break," Pepper answered quickly. "We've been in here for several hours. We were just about to start our research again when you approached us, sir." Sacha hissed between his teeth as he listened to Pepper lie so flawlessly to a teacher.

"And during this break, perchance, did you ever think to start or finish your essay on Grindylows for my class?" Professor Quinlin's deep tones were verging on being threatening, and Pepper's face blanched visibly. "I see that it did not."

"Sir, I apologize. I got sidetracked, and-" Pepper rushed to come up with an excuse, but Professor Quinlin cut her off.

"No excuses, Miss Zaniel. It was due today, and everyone one of your classmates handed an essay in. Excepting you, of course."

"I'll write it this afternoon, sir, and give it to you tonight, I promise."

"No need," Professor Quinlin's lips quirked into what might have been a smile if he hadn't still been glowering at Pepper. "I understand that clearly, there are things at work in your life that I don't understand. Things that take precedence over your schoolwork. I am, after all, only a mere teacher at this school." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "You will have until tomorrow to complete your essay, Miss Zaniel. I suggest that you don't disappoint me again."

"Yes sir," Pepper gulped nervously.

"You will be punished, I should think. I'll send an owl later this evening, the moment I consider something worthy of a student of your... calibre." His mocking tones rang in Pepper's ears as he turned on his heels and strode out of the library, acid green robes flailing behind him. She observed how their colour matched the venom in his tone perfectly. As soon as Professor Quinlin was out of sight, Pepper slumped back in her chair, unaware of the tension that had been collecting in her back and shoulders. Grape crawled out from under the table, her lips trembling. Sacha was the one who broke the uneasy silence.

"Wow... he hates you."

Pepper laughed. "You think? I totally forgot about that essay."

"Have you written any of it yet? You can use my notes," Grape offered kindly from where she sat, touching Pepper's hand with comforting fingers.

"It's okay, Grape, but thanks. I wrote most of it when he first gave us the assignment two weeks ago. I just forgot to add my conclusion and hand it in. I think it's sitting somewhere at the bottom of my bag. I just got so distracted..."

"Don't worry about it." Sacha shrugged. "We'll go to our common room now and you can finish your essay. We can always do some more reading tomorrow." Grape nodded in agreement and closed the open book in front of her. Sacha replaced his volume in its spot on top of a small tower of books that they had compiled. Pepper marked her page and shut the volume in front of her as well. The three of them exited the library together, parting ways as they walked to their respective common rooms: Grape to Ravenclaw tower, Sacha in the general direction of the school kitchens, and Pepper up to Gryffindor tower.

"Sasquamish," she said to the Fat Lady, who swung open with a smile. Pepper stepped in to the common room and found it nearly empty, except for Albus who lay sprawled out on one of the couches, reading _Quidditch through the Ages _for at least the hundredth time. He looked up and grinned as she came in.

"Hey. What'd you guys find?"

"More of the same," Pepper sighed. Only Albus knew how upset she was by their fruitless search. Crossing the room to the couch, she lifted his feet up and sat down, letting his legs rest across her lap. Albus rolled over from his stomach and propped his back against some of the many pillows lying on the couch. "Quinlin's giving me detention."

"What for?" Albus's face twisted with outrage; he still didn't like Professor Quinlin very much.

"I forgot about the Grindylow essay," Pepper sighed again, leaning back as far as the cushions would allow her. "He said I could hand it in tomorrow, and he'd send an owl detailing my punishment tonight."

As if on cue, a small, tawny owl fluttered in through the open window in the common room. In its beak it clutched a small square of parchment. The owl landed quietly on Pepper's knee before dropping the parchment and fluttering out the window. Pepper stared apprehensively at the square of parchment in her lap. "Open it," Albus tried to make his tone encouraging.

Pepper had just grasped the corners of the parchment when Fegan came soaring in through the window, his size and warmth filling the room like fire. He perched himself on the arm rest of the couch, shuffling his taloned feet to stand closer to Pepper as he blinked curiously at the parchment. "Where've you been?" Pepper scolded him. "You could've kept me out of trouble!"

Fegan cooed in amusement, and Pepper rolled her eyes before pulling the folded parchment open. She read the writing on it, confused. Albus strained to sit up so he could read as well. "What's it say?" he demanded. Pepper wordlessly handed him the parchment.

_Elemental Magicks_

_Restricted Section permission signed by:_

_Professor P. Quinlin_

Albus stared uncomprehendingly at the parchment before raising his face to Pepper. She shrugged, her eyes just as confused as his were.

* * *

_Oh, Professor! :P What are you up to?!_

_Love it? Hate it? Please review and let me know!_


	14. Quidditch Match

_I don't deserve you guys ;P_

_Glad that everyone seems to like Quinlin :) It's funny - he started as just a generic teacher, and then his character kind of wrote itself. I'm really looking forward to see how you guys react in the later books...  
_

_Speaking of, whenever I read the reviews about what you guys think about parings, all I can think is "Wow... you guys are either gonna love me or hate me starting in Book 4..."  
_

_With that being said..._

* * *

Breakfast in the Great Hall was abuzz with noise and activity the morning of the last Saturday of November. Quidditch season was finally about to get underway, and the first game of the season was set to play that afternoon; Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team was seated together near the centre of the House table as their friends and fellow Gryffindors pressed in around them from all sides, offering 'good-luck-s' and 'break-a-leg-s'

Pepper sat in the thick of it all, next to Albus as she cheerily tucked in to her plate of eggs. She was excited for the game that was to take place in the afternoon; nervous, too, but more so excited. She'd practiced for weeks with her team and on her own, and she felt that she was ready for almost anything the Slytherin team could throw her way. Even the glares and sneers that Teddy was sending her from the Slytherin table couldn't faze her today. She even caught herself humming cheerily as she buttered a slice of toast.

"You're certainly happy today," Albus remarked, catching onto her light mood. Pepper shrugged.

"Why shouldn't I be?" She took a big bite of her toast, chewed and swallowed. "The sun is shining, soon I'll be flying, and I have mail." Albus looked around the area of table in front of Pepper, confused for a minute. She shook her head, directing his gaze upward with a pointed finger. At that moment, and flock of owls swooped down from the ceiling, dropping parcels and papers in front of the still eating students. A particularly large cluster of owls were grouped around one long, narrow package, and they drifted down to Pepper's seat. The owls let go of the package in unison and Pepper expertly reached up and caught the tightly wrapped package, feeling the smooth surface of its narrow handle through the paper.

"You got a broom?" Albus stated it as a question, quirking an eyebrow. Pepper shrugged before proceeding to tear in to the plain brown wrapping. She tossed it over her shoulder and on to the cold flagstone floor of the Hall as she revealed a gleaming chestnut brown broom, emblazoned with gold. "You got a Firebolt?"

"Of course. It's not like I don't have almost unlimited supplies of money at my disposal," Pepper said almost sheepishly. She rose from the table, grabbing her new broom as she stood. "I'm going to take this for a test flight before the game. See you out there." Pepper held the shiny new broomstick across her shoulder as she exited the Hall. The grounds were empty, as most of the school was either still in bed or else still eating breakfast. As soon as Pepper's shoes touched grass, she swung a leg over her broom and shot off into the air.

It was marvelous. The Firebolt responded to her slightest thought, and turned on a time. It felt smooth and sleek under her grip as she cut through the air. The vibrations running up and down the handle and into her hands were almost minimal, unlike the old Cleansweep that she had practiced on. The vibrations from that broom had almost caused her to bite off her own tongue, once or twice. Pepper flew swiftly towards the Quidditch pitch where, in less than an hour, the first game of the season would be underway.

Pepper made loop-the-loops in the air and performed complicated rolls and manoeuvres on her broom until she noticed the rest of the Gryffindor team filing out of the school and beginning to make their way down towards the pitch and their locker room. The Slytherin team followed close behind, and soon, Pepper knew, almost every student in the school would be coming out to find good seats to watch the game from. Pepper dove from her great height in the sky, gliding to a halt in front of the passage going into the Gryffindor House dressing room. She leaned her broom up against the wall outside the door before stepping inside.

The room was clean; someone had been in their recently to make sure that everything was nice and neat for the big game. One wall of seven lockers faced Pepper, each with a different name and position on it. Her locker was the first on the left. _Pyramus-Zaniel, Chaser. _The letters were boldly inscribed in gold on the scarlet door, and every time Pepper saw it, she felt a swell of pride. Next to her locker was Adam's; his also was inscribed with a gold star that showed his Captaincy. Several benches sat in the middle of the room, facing a wall that held a chalkboard. The board was covered in complicated, moving squiggles of chalk that Adam had drawn for them at their last practice, detailing their newest strategies to win.

"You ready, Pep-N-Step?" James drawled from behind her. Pepper turned; he was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and a small smirk on his face.

"Pep-N-Step? That's the best you could come up with?" Pepper grimaced. James only shrugged.

"Could be worse."

"True," Pepper conceded. "And yeah, I'm good. Thanks for asking." James nodded, striding past her to open his own locker. Pepper followed suit, staring at her Quidditch robes that had just been embroidered with her name. The rest of the team filed in and went to their respective lockers. Pepper stripped off her Muggle sweater, wearing only a white camisole underneath. Immediately, the entire team of boys blushed and turned towards their own lockers. Pepper grinned before shrugging into the sleeves of her scarlet Quidditch robes.

They dressed quickly, pulling on stitched leather arm guards, shin guards, boots and gloves. Pepper's gloves only covered her palms, leaving individual holes for fingers so that she could still have full mobility in her hands. The day was bright and sunny; it didn't look like rain, but she still tossed her goggles around her neck, just to be safe. When the entire team was dressed and ready, they all sat on the wooden benches facing the chalkboard and Adam.

"We're ready for this, team," Adam began. "We know our strategy inside and out. We've got more practice, more drive, and more talent than the Slytherins." His eyes raked over each one of his players. "Just keep a level head and focus out there. Fly out of the sun: that should stop them from seeing us coming. Don't provoke the Slytherins; we don't want any injuries today." His eyes flicked to Pepper's face, and she blushed sheepishly.

The roar of the crowd could be heard from above and all around them as their school mates settled in to watch the game, cheering and shouting the names of their preferred House or player. Pepper imagined Grape, Sacha, Cameron and Rose sitting together in the stands, decked out in scarlet and gold. Mikaela would be cheering for Slytherin of course, but she knew that her friend was secretly backing her. The Gryffindor team sat for a moment, listening to the cheers. "Let's do this," Adam nodded, and they all stood, filing into line at the door. Pepper stood right behind Albus, who was looking slightly green. Her hand snaked forward and caught his as they left the dressing room, clutching his gloved fingers desperately. Albus glanced at her over his shoulder and smiled.

The roar when they stepped out on to the pitch was deafening. Pepper blinked at the sudden explosion of sound and colour surrounding her. Nearly three quarters of the stadium was filled with students clad in scarlet and gold; Gryffindor was the favourite to win the Quidditch Cup that year. They hadn't won since Harry Potter himself had played and now, with both of the legends sons on the team, everyone was hopeful. Pepper grinned, raising one hand in a small wave as they took to the centre of the pitch.

They lined up in formation in the centre of the pitch surrounding Madame Hooch and the small casket that held the Quidditch balls. Each team member took to the sky; Albus rose slightly above the rest; his eyes already darting around the pitch to see the competition. The Slytherin team consisted of seven older, burly boys, all in their final few years at Hogwarts. Pepper glimpsed Teddy off to one side, hefting his Beater's bat and glaring at her like she was a piece of meat.

"The Bludgers are released, followed by the Snitch-"

Pepper tore her attention from Teddy as a voice echoed around the stadium, announcing the release of the two Bludgers and the tiny Golden Snitch. Her eyes narrowed in on Madame Hooch as the flying instructor grasped the Quaffle in her hands in preparation to throw it into play.

"The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!"

Pepper swooped forwards towards the Quaffle, ducking under the arm of a Slytherin Chaser as he made a swipe for the same. Her fingers fumbled for a moment, but soon the red ball was in her grasp and she swerved around the emerald clad boy, pulling the Quaffle in under her arm. Easily, James and Brent fell in slightly behind her on either side as she swept towards the Slytherin Keeper. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder at James, Pepper winked, mouthing "Porskoff." James blinked in understanding, dropping down slightly.

Pepper faced the Slytherin Keeper, who was following her every move carefully; all that remained between her and the goal. Pepper swooped upwards, training her eyes on the centre and tallest of the three hoops. The Keeper followed her, rising up with a determined look in his eye, and Pepper dropped the Quaffle. She swerved around the surprised Keeper and the hoop just in time to see James aim a shot at the far right hoop. The bell rang, and Pepper fist-pumped.

"James Potter scores for Gryffindor! 10 points!"

Pepper would have high-fived her teammate, but there was no time as one of the Slytherin Chaser had caught the Quaffle and was now streaking towards the Gryffindor end of the pitch. Pepper rushed forward to fall in behind the Chaser, her face nearly touching the tail twigs of his broom. The Chaser looked back over his shoulder and yelped upon seeing Pepper there. A foot lashed out and connected with her face; Pepper felt a sharp stinging pain as she fell away from formation. Loud groans could be heard from the crowd and Pepper felt the stinging replaced with a dull ache, and tasted the coppery tang of blood as it dripped from her noise over her lips. _TWEET!_

The play halted with the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle. She called a foul on the Slytherin Chaser for 'skinning' before handing the Quaffle into Pepper's possession to take the penalty. Pepper wiped the blood away from her mouth as best she could before lining up in the centre of the pitch. James flew up beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern as he watched the blood drip over onto Pepper's robes. She nodded, hefting the Quaffle in her hand before streaking down the pitch. She was angry now, and the Keeper didn't even see the Quaffle coming as it flew at an impossible speed past his head.

"Another 10 points!"

The game continued in that fashion for another half hour. Gryffindor scored another 5 goals, totaling 70 points over all. Slytherin got several shots off as well, but only managed to sneak two of them past Adam's quick fingers, making the score 70 - 20. After the skinning call, any fouls were either avoided or purposefully done when Madam Hooch wasn't watching. On one occasion, two of the Slytherin Chasers had rammed into Pepper from both sides, forcing her to drop the Quaffle into the hands of their waiting teammate. A slow anger started burning in Pepper's chest and she could feel hear her blood pounding in her ears. The charm around her neck practically seared with heat, begging her to burn the ones who were causing this pain. Pepper grimaced, feeling the now dried blood on her lips crack as she fought back the fire.

Pepper had only seen glimpses of Albus throughout the game, ducking Bludgers and generally avoiding the play as his eyes raked the area for the Snitch. Occasionally, he would dart after something, and disappear from view for several long moments. Once, as Pepper rolled on her broom to dodge a well aimed Bludger, she caught a glimpse of the tiny golden ball before she whirled past it again. Moments later, Albus shot past her, the Slytherin Seeker close on his tail.

They played for over an hour, until Pepper could feel her own sweat mingling with the now dried blood on her face. The score was up now, 120 – 60 for Gryffindor. 80 of the points had been scored by Pepper. Both teams were beginning to get tired, and with that, they became increasingly more violent. James was racing towards the Slytherin hoops when, out of nowhere, a Slytherin Chaser came and collided with him, almost knocking him off of his broom. "What the heck!" James roared, swooping down on that Chaser. "What's your problem?"

In response, the Chaser reached out and punched James right in the face. With a growl, James grabbed the boy using the collar of his robes, pulling him off of his broom slightly. The Slytherin boy had at least 50 pounds than James, who looked practically dwarfed in comparison. The entire situation might have been comical, if it was so potentially dangerous. Madam Hooch was flying over with her broom, her hand inside her cloak, prepared to draw her wand to stop the fight, when an excited cry rose over the pitch.

"I've got it! I caught the Snitch!"

Albus dove down from the clouds above, clutching something in his left fist that glinted gold in the sunlight. The Slytherin Keeper drifted down after him, looking dejected and ashamed as he flew towards his teammates. The pitch was silent for a moment, before the air was split with excited cheers on three sides. The rest of the Gryffindor team surged towards Albus, grabbing at him and pulling him into excited hugs. In the centre of it tall, Albus grinned, waving his hand and the Snitch in the air excitedly. The announcer gave the game's results in a loud voice breathless with excitement. Gryffindor: 270, Slytherin: 60.

Pepper hung back a little, coasting towards her team and her friend as they celebrated. She smiled rather stupidly, the pain in her face forgotten, as well as the burning need for the fire as she revelled in the moment. She glanced behind her, where the Slytherin team crouched on their brooms, muttering angrily and patting each other on the back. On the fringes of the group, Teddy hung, his eyes shooting murderous daggers towards Pepper. Madam Hooch held on to the Quaffle and was currently chasing down a rogue Bludger over the pitch. The Bludger flew towards Teddy, who glanced at it with a scheming look.

Too late, Pepper realized what was happening, and she didn't even have time to duck out of the way as Teddy swung his bat and the Bludger in her direction. She heard a thud and someone's outraged scream before everything went black.

* * *

_Mwahahaha! Yeah, I'm leaving it there.  
_

_Kudos to Google for supplying me with Quidditch plays.  
_

_Love it? Hate it? Reviews can be very inspiring... Hint hint...  
_


	15. New Acquaintances

_I just love being evil :P_

_But I am sorry. I hope this makes up for it.  
_

_A Boxing Day present to you all._

* * *

Soft, rosy light filled Pepper's vision as she slowly drifted back into consciousness. Her head throbbed and ached, and she felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach. Somewhere to her left, someone was breathing very loudly, or else very close to her. Slowly, Pepper opened her eyes, fluttering her lashes against the suddenly much sharper light that filtered in from the window. At first her vision was blurred, but as her eyes focused Pepper saw an enormous face leaning over her, grinning toothily.

"What the-" Pepper yelped, scrambling back into a sitting position and pulling her sheets up to her neck along with her. The face cackled with laughter.

"I'm sorry," it snickered. "You should have seen your face, it was priceless!" Still laughing, the face bounced back several feet, hopping up onto another hospital bed and taking a seat. Pepper observed that the other bed looked as though it had already been slept in, and the bedside table was littered with cards and flowers and gifts. The face belonged to a girl, probably a few years older than Pepper, with a sweet, round face and dirty blonde hair that fell sloppily into her blue-green eyes. Her smile was huge, filling her entire face.

"Where am I?" Pepper groaned, sinking back into her bed.

"Hospital wing," the girl said simply by way of explanation. "You've been here since the Quidditch match... I think about 3 days?" Pepper sat upright again.

"3 days!" Her voice squeaked a little. The girl nodded solemnly.

"You were pretty messed up when they brought you in. There was blood everywhere, and you were unconscious. Pretty sure that your nose was broken in two places, and your jaw bone was cracked or something. You've got some nice bruises and a real shiner coming too. That was one well aimed Bludger." The girl whistled low.

"Well, the guy on the other end doesn't like me very much," Pepper explained, smiling darkly.

"No kidding. I know Teddy, or at least I know of him. He`s a world class jerk.`` The girl offered, shaking her head.

"You can say that again," Pepper grimaced.

"Alright," the girl grinned wickedly again. "He's a world class jerk."

Pepper may have just been tired, or maybe it was the pain bouncing around in her skull, but she found that statement to be hilarious. She burst out laughing, doubling forward as she fought to breathe. The girl continued smiling in response until Pepper caught a hold of her breath again. "My name's Pepper."

"Oh, I know," the girl answered. "Everyone knows who you are by now. The last remaining Pyramus child, or something schmancy like that."

Pepper shuddered. "Everyone knows about that?"

The girl nodded. "Word's out, everyone's talking now. I'm Deborah, by the way. Deborah Ross. Fourth year, Ravenclaw House."

"Nice meeting you, Deborah."

"Call me Deb. Or Debbie," Deborah countered with another smile. "Or any variation of Deborah, really. Just so long as it's not 'Germish'."

"Germish?" Pepper blinked dumbly at Deborah. She sighed.

"My Dad's German. Like, really German. But we live in Ireland, because my Mom's Irish," Deborah explained. "A couple of my friends got hold of that and started calling me the German- Irish, but that was decidedly too long. So they shortened it to Germish. I'm still looking to get back at them for that one."

"Which friends?" Pepper asked.

"James Potter and his crew. We've been hanging out since first year, actually, ever since I replaced all of the teacher's ink with enchanted stuff that wouldn't allow them to spell anything properly." Deborah sniggered. "James was impressed. You should have been there; Professor Snailgrove, the Muggle Studies professor, was so freaked out that she threatened to quit the school!"

"Did you ever get caught?" Pepper wondered out loud. Deborah shook her head.

"They always suspected James, but they never actually punished anyone. We've been pranking together ever since."

"I know James," Pepper offered. "His little brother Albus is one of my best friends, and James and I hang out occasionally."

Deborah nodded. "He's mentioned you. He said you were cool, and everything." Deborah's eyes flashed for a moment with... jealousy?

"Do you like him?" Pepper blurted out, catching the jealous look in Deborah's eye. Deborah looked taken aback, and she fumbled for her words.

"Maybe... I guess so. I always figured I'm not his type, but..." her voice trailed off, and Deborah shook herself. "Nope. We're just good friends. He's actually the reason that I'm in here in the first place. He was telling me all about these Muggle devices called parachutes that Muggles use instead of flying. We tried making one and tested it out the window of Gryffindor tower."

"Ouch," Pepper flinched. Deborah nodded.

"I'm just glad we didn't test it off the Astronomy tower, like we originally planned. It worked just fine, until I got to the landing part. Shattered the bones in my right foot. Not something that I ever want to experience again."

"He apologized, right?" Pepper demanded. Deborah shook her head.

"Nah. He doesn't have to, I've had way worse before," she shrugged. "Last year I ate potions ingredients on a bet. Ended up in the hospital wing for two weeks. Professor Lumely was furious, but James thought that the whole thing was hilarious. He paid me 25 Galleons for doing it, so we were even in the end."

"You don't have much concern for personal safety, do you?" Pepper said wryly. Deborah shrugged.

"What's life without a little risk? YOLO, and all of that. What's the Latin phrase that people use?" Pepper gaped at Deborah, who just rolled her eyes. "I always make it through okay. Madam Pomphrey knows her stuff. She and I are really quite close, you know. She even taught me how to knit last time I was here with broken limbs. 'Course, that happened during Quidditch when I tried to save on one of James trick shots and fell off my broom... So it wasn't entirely his fault..." Deborah's voice trailed off as Madam Pomphrey bustled into the room. Her face lit up when she saw Pepper sitting upright and in bed.

"Oh, thank heavens you're awake! You gave us quite a scare, Ms Zaniel." She hurried over to Pepper's bedside, taking a seat on the side of her bed against the railing. "I healed the broken bones, but you've got a dreadful concussion. You'll be in here for at least another few days. I can fix the bruises if you like, or we can allow them to heal on their own."

"On their own," Pepper confirmed. "I want everyone to see exactly what he did."

"Madam Pomphrey nodded, though her eyes were angry. "I must say, I'm absolutely furious at that boy. To think that he deliberately harmed another student, and placed her in hospital," Madam Pomphrey huffed. "I hope that the Head of his House is especially strict with him."

"Professor Quinlin?" Pepper asked tentatively, and Madam Pomphrey nodded absently.

"Yes, he wanted to speak to you about it, dear. Actually, your friends have been pestering me for days, demanding to come and visit. I told them that once you woke up, you would require a little time to recover before I would allow them in." Pepper opened her mouth to protest, but Madam Pomphrey shook a finger at her. "Now, now. I'll allow them in tomorrow. But only 6 at a time. And Professor Quinlin comes first." With that said, Madam Pomphrey rose and hurried off in the direction of her office.

"Professor Quinlin..." Pepper murmured, and her face blanched. Deborah noticed.

"You don't like Quinlin? He seems to be alright." Deborah questioned, her eyes on her bed side table as she rooted around for something.

"He scares the pants off of me," Pepper admitted. "He's just so... serious. And I don't think he likes me all that much."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Deborah shrugged. "Teachers don't really like any of us. They just endure us. That's why they get paid the semi- big bucks. Exploding Snap?" Deborah held up a deck of cards, and Pepper smiled, albeit tiredly. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

_Oh, Quinlin. I love that guy!  
_

_He surprises the pants off of me.  
_

_I thought he was going to be my Snape, too. He had other ideas.  
I wonder if any of you can guess...  
_

_Reviews for the starving author this Holiday season?  
_

_If you do, maybe she'll write on her break :P  
_

_...  
_

_Bribery. I feel no shame.  
_


	16. Uncomfortable Encounters

_Oodles of thanks to **Jinny, RoseQuartz1, fantasyblast **and **I'm a Muppet of a Girl **for reviwing last chapter! More than 50 reviews... Whew! I love you guys :P_

_Loving the love for Devorah! (The friend who inspires Deborah loves the love too ;P )  
_

_Without further ado, the long awaited next chapter!_

* * *

Deborah was released from the hospital wing first thing the following morning. Her foot had healed and she left bouncing slightly as she babbled her plans to go and get back at James for pushing her out of the Gryffindor tower window. Before leaving, she had smiled and given Pepper a quick hug, promising to "See you around, kid. If you see James before I do, give him hell."

She hadn't slept at all the night before, despite Madam Pomphrey's best elixirs poured down her throat. Her head still pounded with every beat of her heart, and a dull throbbing had set in behind her eye where the bruising was at its worst. Pepper relished the moment when she would see Teddy again, and she could punish him. Maybe she would hex him. She'd been doing a lot of reading lately, and the Bat Bogey Hex sounded highly appropriate for the situation.

She hadn't had any visitors to the hospital wing yet that day, and Pepper was bored. Albus and Rose had left Pepper's school bag with Madam Pomphrey, who had passed it on to Pepper. She busied herself reading through Standard Book of Spells: Grade Two, and practicing the wand movements underneath her bed sheets. Madam Pomphrey didn't really approve of recovering students using magic in the hospital wing, so Pepper always made sure that her back was turned.

Afternoon rolled by, and Pepper was starting to feel almost consumed by her boredom. She stared angrily at the candle on the bedside table next to hers, debating the prospect of setting it alight, just for something to do. She heard soft footsteps on the cobbled floor approaching, and rolled her eyes towards her visitor.

"I take it you never got around to finding the book that I had advised," Professor Quinlin rumbled in his deep bass tones. He was dressed in shocking yellow robes today; Pepper could honestly say that he had the most style of any witch or wizard that she had ever met. His dark brows were furrowed, and his long brown hair looked mussed as though he had come to the hospital wing in a great hurry. He hadn't even pulled it back into his usual pony tail.

"You could say that," Pepper murmured, grimacing at the pain striking her head again. Underneath his arm, Professor Quinlin held a thick, heavy- looking leather bound volume that was stained a deep purple. He held it out to her, and Pepper took it. The leather felt old and crumbled under her hands. _Elemental Magicks _was engraved on the front and highlighted in deep gold ink. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Professor Quinlin grumbled. He rocked on his feet, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. In her two years at Hogwarts, Pepper had never seen the man looks this way. Awkwardness practically rolled off of him, and he looked entirely unsure of how he was supposed to act in the situation.

"Sir, if I might ask," Pepper began tentatively. "How did you know about... How did you know that I needed this book?" To her knowledge, no one else knew about her abilities apart from her friends and McGonagall. Unless McGonagall had told another teacher, but no offence intended: Quinlin didn't seem like the first choice for McGonagall to trust with this secret.

"You mean to ask how I know about what you can do?" Professor Quinlin stated gruffly. Pepper nodded sheepishly, casting her eyes downward. "I knew your mother, Ms Zaniel. Many years ago." Was it her imagination, or did his voice sound choked?

"You knew my..." It made sense, when she thought about it. Her mother would have to be around Quinlin's age, in her mid 40's. "How, sir, if you don't mind my asking."

"School," was the gruff reply she received. Pepper glanced at the Professor curiously, but his gaze had shifted to elsewhere in the room, trying to avoid her eyes. Pepper huffed a sigh that ended up turning into a light moan as the pain attacked her head again. Professor Quinlin's eyes shot back towards her, full of concern.

"Are you alright?" He demanded. Pepper nodded, still grimacing.

"It hurts," she understated. Professor Quinlin's brow furrowed again, and he looked mildly furious.

"Ms Zaniel," His voice was somewhat bitter around her last name, "Theodore McNair is a student of my House. I am absolutely appalled by his actions at the Quidditch game four days ago. He had no right to what he did," Professor Quinlin's voice shook angrily. "I've already had words with him, and wrote to his family. He has received detention for the remainder of the school year. However, I am willing to expel him if you believe that is the action that you want to take."

Pepper blinked in surprise. To her, it sounded like Professor Quinlin had been defending her and her honor against one of his precious Slytherin students. She thought that he hated her... And yet here he was, offering to expel a student to protect her. "What? Sir, I don't think it's necessary."

"Think about it, Pepper." It was the first time he had ever used her first name in an informal setting. "There are no excuses for what Theodore did. He deserves to be expelled. Are you sure you don't want to have him thrown out, at least for your own safety?"

Pepper bit her lip and thought about it. With Teddy gone, she wouldn't have to worry about him trying to get even anymore. She and her friends could be safe. And Scorpius would finally be free of his cousin; he could step away from that shadow and be their friend as he so clearly wanted to be. Not to mention that Pepper would get a great deal of personal satisfaction from watching her enemy suffer. The voices whispered around her again, encouraging that thought. _Let him burn, _they said. _Let him suffer. He deserves it. _They weren't wrong. But still...

"No, sir. I appreciate it, but I think Teddy's been through enough. Or he will have been, once my friends get through with him," Pepper chuckled darkly. "He'll regret this enough without being expelled." Professor Quinlin nodded, and his small smile was filled with... approval? Something of that sort.

"As you wish," he inclined his head slightly. The hospital wing doors swung open violently.

"Three days! You've been unconscious three days, and as soon as you wake up, you don't send for me! I am offended, girl, deeply wounded and... Oh..." Sacha's voice trailed off when he saw Professor Quinlin standing over Pepper's bedside. "Sorry, sir." His cheeks coloured scarlet.

"No matter, I was just leaving." Professor Quinlin cleared his throat, looking quite relieved at his excuse to leave. "Pepper, you are not excused from the school work you have missed. I expect it on my desk in a week's time." The understanding, protective Quinlin was gone, replaced with the stern, brooding teacher once more. "Enjoy the book." With a sweep of his lemon coloured cloak, Professor Quinlin strode past Sacha and out of the hospital wing. Sacha stared, wide eyed, after him.

"That guy scares the crap out of me," Sacha whispered, turning horror struck eyes towards Pepper. She laughed, and his face split into a grin. He bounded forward, hopping up onto the bed next to Pepper. "Was he intimidating you?"

"Could have been worse," Pepper admitted. "He brought me some reading material, and called me by my first name." And he had mentioned her mother, but Pepper wasn't sure that she wanted to share that yet. Sacha's grin widened.

"First name basis already? I'm going to have to ask him to declare his intentions." Sacha waggled his eyebrows and Pepper groaned.

"Not you too! Seriously, the guy could be my father!" Pepper protested, and Sacha appeared to ponder that.

"You know, I could see the family resemblance. The whole 'dark- tortured- brooding- and- slightly- morbid- at- times' thing. It has an aura of mystery to it," Sacha ducked as Pepper swatted at him with her pillow.

"What, so now I'm not only crazy, but morbid too?" Pepper pulled back her pillow for another attack.

"I'll say," Albus grinned from the entrance to the hospital wing. "How many times have we been in this hospital wing this year? It is a little bit morbid." He strolled in to the room. "Someone has been waiting to see you," he warned, just as Fegan burst in to the room in a magnificent display of scarlet and gold plumage. He cooed out a melody as he flew across the room and settled onto Pepper's knee. He blinked up at her with sad black eyes.

"I missed you too, Fegan," Pepper murmured, stroking the bird's head. He leaned his neck forward into her touch. Pepper teased the soft, glossy feathers between her fingers before glancing up at Albus, who had fully entered the room now and was standing by her side. "What did I miss?"

"Well, we won," Albus grinned almost sheepishly. "270 points to 60. It put us into first for the House Cup. And then Teddy kind of lost it. Hit the Bludger towards you, and it got you right in the face. You fell off of your broom; luckily you weren't too high of the ground when you fell. Teddy was screaming and cursing and he was starting to draw his wand. The rest of his team held him back while Madam Hooch caught the rogue Bludger. She was furious. Everyone in the stands was being hustled back into the school by the teachers, and all of the heads of Houses came onto the pitch," Albus explained, frowning.

"McGonagall and Quinlin were furious," Sacha returned top Pepper's side as soon as he was confident that she had forgotten about the pillow abuse. "Quinlin practically dragged Teddy back to his office, and McGonagall was shouting himself hoarse. Rose and I slipped past the teachers and onto the pitch. We got their in time to see Professor Longbottom magic you on to a stretcher and take you up to the hospital wing. The entire team came with us. You were..." Sacha drew in a sharp breath. "You were pretty messed up. Madam Pomphrey healed your broken bones quickly, and said you'd have some bruises and a concussion when you woke up. She sort of kicked us out after that," Sacha shrugged, but his eyes were worried.

"She wasn't kidding about the bruises, was she?" Albus reached out a tentative hand to brush the side of Pepper's face. She struggled not to flinch away from the intimacy of his touch. His fingers were cool against her skin as he gently prodded the yellowing bruise around her eye. "Can't Madam Pomphrey do something about those?"

"I don't want her to," Pepper explained. "I want everyone to see what Teddy did to me. He deserves it." Her tone was sharper than she had intended, and Albus looked concerned.

"Pepper, you're not going to do anything to him, right?" The weight of his words surprised Pepper, and she shook her head.

"No. Definitely not, I'm in control Al. I won't do anything to him."

"Good." Sacha said. "That leaves more for me." Pepper and Albus both raised their eyebrows at Sacha and he shrugged. "What? Nobody messes with our girl. I'm going to fix Teddy with a set of antlers, then show him how we like our hunting season over in Canada." Pepper laughed.

"Venison jerky, Sacha? That's disgusting." Pepper shook her head.

"It'll grow on you, trust me," Sacha smiled. "Just like our donuts and our coffee and our poutine, you will learn to love it." Pepper stuck out her tongue, and Sacha laughed. "Sick of hospital food yet?"

"Definitely. You guys didn't sneak me anything?" Pepper whined. Albus grinned, reaching into his robes and pulling out a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and handing them to Pepper. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she laughed, snatching the box away excitedly. "Albus, I love you!" she cheered. Albus just blushed.

"You're welcome," He mumbled into his collar. Pepper opened the box and withdrew a bean, smiling at her blushing best friend. Fegan leaned forward curiously, sniffing at the open box.

"Wanna try one?" Pepper asked, holding her palm open with the pale green bean on it for her phoenix. Fegan dipped his head forward. "This had better not be like the time I let you try butterbeer," Pepper warned. Fegan let out a musical wheeze that may have been a snort and snapped up the bean in her hand. There was pregnant pause, after which Fegan excitedly dug his beak into the box of Beans.

"Is there anything that bird of yours won't eat?" Sacha demanded, looking both fascinated and disgusted.

"I've yet to find out," Pepper grinned. "You know, he reminds me of someone else who'll eat almost anything..." Pepper let her sentence trail off with a smile. Sacha's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open.

"You're on, you little witch," he threatened. From behind his back, he drew a pillow from one of the other beds in the hospital wing. The soft feathery sack it Pepper in the side of the head and while it didn't help the pain, she couldn't stop laughing as she grabbed her own case of feathery mass destruction. Albus ducked out of the way, laughing and watching as the two friends beat each other with the pillows. Fegan snatched up the box of beans and flew them to safety.

"What are you doing?" Madam Pomphrey screeched from her office. The curtains swung open to reveal the very angry matron with both hands on her hips as she scolded. Pepper and Sacha dropped their pillows. "She needs rest! If you cannot behave yourselves, I will throw you both out, understand!" Sacha nodded meekly and Madam Pomphrey swing her curtains shut again. Sacha turned wide eyes to Pepper, who was struggling to contain her laughter.

"You so got told!" she snickered around her fist. Sacha's frightened expression spread into a wide smile and he laughed. Pepper gave up holding hers in and laughed with him. Fegan, now assured of the beans safety, flew back to the bed and dug in once more. Albus sat on the floor, resting his head against the bed and chuckling. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, laughing and reveling in the fact that their friend was all right; simply enjoying the moment.

* * *

_I'm sorry about the update wait, but I think it's worth it, n'est pas?  
_

_Reviews? Love it, Hate it, Let me know!  
_


	17. Christmas Vacation

_Yeah, I suck. I know. Life gets cray-cray, but I'm finally able to post this. Just a bit of fun, despite Christmas being months ago...  
There's still snow where I live, okay :P_

_Anywhoo, enjoy!_

* * *

Snow blatantly refused to fall onthe Hogwarts grounds until the day of Christmas Eve. It had threatened in the air for several weeks, hinting at an appearance in the sharp cold wind that would blow from over the Lake, but the ground remained stubbornly unfrosted. Albus, Rose, Mikaela and Cameron left school for the holidays feeling considerably unsatisfied that they had yet to have a snowball fight. Pepper, Grape and Sacha stayed behind and prayed for a snow fall – Pepper and Grape because they had no where else to go, and Sacha because his parents had returned to Canada decidedly early that year.

When Pepper woke up the morning of Christmas Eve, the empty dorm room looked different. The light shining in through the windows was bright and clear as it sparkled across the walls. Gasping, Pepper rolled on to her side, dragging her sheets off of her bed as she hurried towards the window. Glancing downwards, she laughed. The school grounds were covered in a thick blanket of gleaming white snow. The Whomping Willow on the grounds was similarly covered, and as Pepper watched it seemed to shiver, shaking the snow off of its glistening limbs and into untidy piles on the ground.

Pepper dressed hurriedly, pulling on socks of different colours in her haste to get ready. She tied her unruly bed head back into a rumpled ponytail before taking a quick glance at herself in the mirror. The bruise around her eye had all but faded into a funky yellow discolouration on her face. On the first day Pepper had come down to breakfast sporting her bruise, she had marched straight up to Teddy's place at the Slytherin table and clapped him on the shoulder.

"One heck of a Quidditch game, wasn't it?" Pepper had cackled, watching the way Teddy's face had blanched. "My friends and I hope that you enjoyed yourself, because it doesn't seem like you'll get another chance to play this year." Sure enough, Professor Quinlin had furthered Teddy's punishment by kicking him off of the Slytherin House Quidditch team. They still hadn't found a replacement Beater.

Pepper abandoned the mirror and hurried out of the dormitory, bounding down the stairs two at a time. She wasn't the first one up this morning; a few of the older Gryffindor boys and girls who had chosen to stay for the holidays were already milling about the common room in their pajamas. Pepper pranced past them all, ignoring the bewildered and annoyed looks as she left the common room. "It's snowing!" Pepper called cheerfully to the Fat Lady, who sat chuckling to herself in her photograph. Pepper raced down the stairs, turning corners sharply and practically screeching to a halt in the Great Hall. Sacha and Grape were already sitting together at the Ravenclaw table eating their breakfast, as Pepper hurried to join them.

"What's got you so excited?" Sacha groaned, groping blindly for the orange juice as he stared bleary- eyed at Pepper's smiling face. Rolling her own eyes, Pepper reached for the orange juice and handed it to Sacha. "Thanks," he murmured into his glass as he attempted to drown himself in the orange juice.

"Two words. Snow. And Day." Pepper grinned. Sacha merely looked confused.

"You know we're on holiday, right? So it's not really a snow day, cause we'd have the day off anyways. Do they even have snow days at Hogwarts?" he puzzled sleepily.

"Oh Sacha, Pepper sighed**. **"Even you can not ruin my good mood today. There is snow on the ground. Snow is awesome. Therefore, we are going outside today to enjoy it. We're going to make a snowman and build snow forts and have and awesome snowball war!"

"I like snowball fights," Grape spoke up finally from her seat. She was using one hand to eat her bowl of cereal; the other was methodically stroking Fegan's neck. Pepper stretched out an arm for Fegan to land on, but he shook his head with incredible grace. Across the web of music between them, he sent and image of the glistening white grounds as Pepper had seen them. Accompanying it was a strong feeling of hatred and general distaste.

"Huh," Pepper said in surprise. "Who would have thought that phoenixes hate the snow?"

"I think it's more of a hate the cold thing," Sacha contributed with a shiver. "I can't stand the cold."

"Sacha, you lived in Canada for most of your life. Isn't it always cold?" Pepper raised an eyebrow. Sacha sighed.

"No. It's just as warm in Canada as it is anywhere else. That's just a common misconception held by the temperature- ly challenged," he glared.

"Are you calling me temperature- ly challenged?" Pepper said with mock hurt. "Is that even a term? I'm insulted!"

"If it isn't a real term, I'll make it one," Sacha grumbled. "And let's face it; if anyone of us here is temperature- ly challenged, it's you. You do spontaneously combust on occasion, after all."

"Touché," Pepper agreed with a grin. "You're still participating in our snowball fight." Sacha just groaned in defeat, and Grape giggled. About two hours later, they met up again on the grounds. Fegan had politely declined when Pepper offered to bring him out with them, opting instead to sit directly beside the fire in the Gryffindor common room and listen to the older Gryffindors fawn over him. Pepper had just rolled her eyes and left him there, pulling a thick woolen hat on over her head. Grape was already waiting outside the front entrance for Pepper, dressed in a thick sweater and fuzzy purple mittens with a matching hat.

"Sacha was right," Grape said in greeting. "It is really cold."

"I'm always right." The disgruntled and muffled voice came from behind them, and Pepper turned and laughed. Sacha was wearing multiple sweaters layered over one another to form a thick covering that made him look twice his usual size. He couldn't even move to lower his arms. He had two hats on his head, pulled down right over his ears, and he wore wool socks that pulled up to his kneecaps.

"How are you going to win a snowball fight dressed like that?" Pepper asked as Sacha waddled out to meet them.

"I don't plan on winning," came his muffled reply. "I plan on getting kicked out quick enough so I can go inside and regain the feeling in my fingers." Despite his many layers, Sacha shivered. Pepper sighed.

"Here," she stepped closer to him, tugging her gloves off of her right hand. Pepper closed her eyes and concentrated on the heat that was always present just under her skin. She drew some of that heat into her hand – not enough to start a fire, but enough to set her hand glowing bright, cherry red like the coals of a fire. Pepper opened her eyes and blew gently on her hand, sending a wave of heat over Sacha. He sighed in relief and relaxed.

"Thanks," he smiled, and Pepper nodded. Her breath hitched a little as she forced the heat back down under her skin, and her necklace flared up in response. She was left feeling dissatisfied, but Pepper smiled at her control. "You've been practicing," Sacha complimented and Pepper pulled her glove back on her hand.

"I've been reading that book that Professor Quinlin gave me," Pepper explained. "It's been really helpful. Now quit stalling, I'm going to kick your but in this fight." Sacha yelped and took off running and Pepper knelt down to form a snowball.

In the end, Grape surprised them all by winning. Pepper was able to take out Sacha easily with several well aimed snowballs, and then they decided to tag team on Grape. Hey searched for the little girl for hours, but they couldn't find her. Finally, as they were walking along the shore of the still unfrozen Lake, Grape leaped down from a tree with two snowballs in her hands, catching them both by surprise and hitting them both in the face. Coughing and laughing around the obstruction of snow in her mouth, Pepper declared Grape the clear winner, and Sacha had to agree, even as he complained about having melting snow in his underwear.

They stayed out the snow right until dinner before trooping back inside, lips blue and cheeks red. The full course turkey feast was spread out over two House tables, and most of the students that had stayed behind were already eating. Laughter could be heard all throughout the Hall, accompanied with the occasional loud banging noise as people pulled on the enchanted Christmas crackers. Pepper, Grape and Sacha had a hoot with those, and by the end of the evening, Pepper found herself carting a small box of enchanted fireworks, a chess set and a golden helmet with tiny, working feathered wings on either side up to her dorm.

She was alone in the second year girl's dorm for the holidays, so Pepper didn't feel any qualms about dumping her new prizes onto one of the beds nearest to her own. Fegan had already perched himself on her bed post and was asleep with his beak tucked underneath one wing. Pepper considered waking him, to remind him of his duty to watch over Grape on her sleep, but he looked so peaceful that she didn't bother. Pepper climbed into bed and closed her eyes. She fell asleep quickly and didn't have any dreams at all.

* * *

Pepper slowly blinked herself into awareness the following morning. Her mind was still foggy with a haze of sleep as she slowly drifted back into consciousness. There was something important about today, she knew, but she couldn't remember exactly what. She slowly thought it out… snow… yesterday… Christmas Eve… Pepper sat bolt upright in her bed. It was Christmas!

Pepper flung her sheets off of her and rather unceremoniously onto the floor. One end of the blankets caught on Fegan and the bedpost, and he fluttered awake with alarmed cooing and excited flapping of his wings as he tried to stay balanced. Apologizing quickly, Pepper untangled her phoenix from the sheets and he fluttered away from the bed post, landing with disgruntled dignity on the bed farthest away from Pepper. She frowned at him and he huffed back. Pepper rolled her eyes and clambered to the end of her bed to see her presents.

A small pile wrapped in red and gold waited for her at the end of her bed. Pepper laughed excitedly, and pulled the first present off of the pile. _To Pepper and Fegan, _it read, _Love from Hannah and Neville. _"Fegan," Pepper turned to her phoenix. "This one is for you too." Fegan flapped over to her side, though her still didn't clamber onto her lap as he normally would. Pepper tore through the wrapping. Inside was a case of Butterbeer. Pepper laughed, watching as Fegan's liquid black eyes grew in size and excitement. "Later," Pepper promised him. "It's too early for you to get drunk."

Fegan stayed with Pepper as she opened her other gifts. From Albus, she had received an enormous box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. The card said that she should share them with Fegan, because he didn't want the bird to singe his eyebrows off. Rose had sent a small scarlet diary, embroidered with gold. Pepper's name was stitched into the front in the same gold thread. Sacha had given her a bag of venison jerky and a set of new quills. Cameron's gift was a book on Quidditch and it's evolution into the sport it was today. Mikaela had sent a long, violet scarf that she had apparently knit herself. Grape's present was a gold picture frame that held a photo of Club Awesome, taken the previous year beside the lake. In the photo, Sacha had just fallen out of the tree above their heads and the group had caught him, all laughing hysterically at the expression of shock on his face. Pepper set the picture on her bedside table immediately.

Even Pepper's father had sent her a gift, accompanied with a long, handwritten letter. Holding the letter in her hand, Pepper felt the searing anger again, and she felt the paper grow warm underneath her fingers. The ruby charm grew hot around her neck, a warning of the flames that were to come. Pepper tossed the letter away before it could be reduced to cinders. She lit a few candles instead, and instantly felt better. The package and letter she stashed in the bottom drawer of her bedside table, where she could hopefully forget all about it.

Only one last gift remained. It wasn't signed or marked in any obvious way. Inside was a small wooden box, inlaid with mother of pearl and tiny green stones that framed the lid. Pepper examined it curiously, and searched for some form of note either in the box or on the wrapping. There was nothing. Shrugging it off, Pepper set the box next to her new photograph and got dressed for the day. Fegan had long since disappeared into the enormous box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and opted to stay in the room as opposed to going down to breakfast. Pepper cast one last glance at the box before leaving the dorm room.

The Great Hall was practically empty when Pepper finally made it down for breakfast. Sacha was at the Hufflepuff table, looking much more wake than he had the previous morning and he tucked in to a plate stacked high with pancakes. "Where is everybody?" Pepper asked as she approached him.

"Good morning, Seeping Beauty!" Sacha responded cheerfully. "Come to join the land of the living? You've already slept half of the day away. What happened to being an early riser?"

"It's Christmas, give me a break," Pepper frowned at him. Sacha laughed, and Pepper threw her arms around him. "Thank you for my present, by the way. But honestly, I will never, ever eat venison jerky. Ever."

"I figured that you could soak it in hot sauce, like you do everything else, and then you wouldn't mind it so much," Sacha shrugged. Pepper sat down next to him and stabbed a fork into the plate of sausages in front of her. "Have you seen Grape this morning?"

"Dude, I just got here," Pepper said after chewing and swallowing. "Why?" Her tone got very serious abruptly. "You haven't seen her?"

"No, she never came down for breakfast, and I've been here for a few hours."

"Methodically eating your way through the schools entire supply of pancakes?" Pepper teased for a moment. "That isn't like Grape, though. Maybe we should go check on her?"

"School rules. We aren't allowed in other House common rooms, I thought," Sacha pointed out.

"We're on holiday," Pepper reminded him. "Forget the rules." She stood and left the breakfast table. Sacha cast a longing glance at his pancakes before following her out of the Great Hall and in the direction of Ravenclaw tower. There were a few more students as the pair of them climbed the wreath encased stairs up to the tower. Pepper smiled and said Merry Christmas to everyone that they passed, but never stopped to talk, dodging around other students as she hurried up the stairs. Sacha huffed tiredly behind her.

When they came to the door to the Ravenclaw common room, Pepper halted. She stared at the heavy wooden door, complete with its brass knocker shaped like and eagle's head before realizing that she didn't know how to get in to the common room. "What do we do?" Pepper whispered to Sacha behind her. He shrugged.

"Knock, I guess." He reached out and tapped the brass knocker. A loud, musical peal like that of a bell rang out, and a melodic voice spoke out of the door.

"If it takes you an hour to dig a hole, how long will it take to dig half a hole?"

Sacha stared at Pepper. "So, we just answer a riddle and we can go in?"

"I guess so," Pepper shrugged. "If it takes and hour to dig a hole, how long will it take to dig half a hole…" Pepper bit her lip.

"Half an hour, obviously," Sacha said. Pepper shook her head.

"No. I mean, a hole is a hole, right? You can't dig half a hole." Pepper reasoned confidently. She jumped back slightly onto Sacha's foot as the door swung open.

"Well reasoned," the musical voice complimented her as the door swung back to reveal a cozy blue and bronze ornamented common room. The centre of the room was dominated by an enormous stone statue of a very pretty woman. Rowena Ravenclaw, Pepper guessed as she stepped into the common room. Two staircases led out of the common room and up to the dorms. Pepper opted for the one on the right, just like in the Gryffindor tower. The stairs led them up past several stories of dormitories.

"Grape said she was on the top floor, right?" Pepper asked Sacha, who simply shrugged. They continued up to the top of the staircase, where the door to the dormitory was slightly ajar. Inside, Pepper could hear muffled yelps and thumping noises. "I guess this is it," Pepper said doubtfully. Then someone screamed inside.

"Pepper!"

Pepper burst through the door hurriedly. Grape was lying in the bed closest to the door, trembling in a tangled mess in her blankets. Her face was flushed and a sheen of sweat covered her. "No! Go away! Help me, Pepper!"

"Shh," Pepper hushed, running to Grape's side and pushing her sweaty soaked hair out of her eyes with a comforting hand. "I'm here, Grape, you're okay." Grape gasped and her eyes flew open. Pepper cringed back; Grape's eyes were a bright, gleaming violet. Their colour slowly faded back to a deep, dark blue and Grape's eyes focused on Pepper above her. Tears leaked from her eyes and tracked down her face. "Grape, honey, what did you dream about?"

"In our night the darkness hides," Grapes sobbed, leaning forward and burying her face into Pepper's front. Pepper wrapped her arms around the trembling little girl, but her mind was reeling. Grape had just quoted the words from the Sorting Hat's song at the start of the year; the words that had reminded Pepper of the prophecy. The same words that she dreamed about. If they were both having the same nightmares, there had to be some truth to it, hadn't there?

* * *

_I can totally sympathize with Sacha, here. Canada is bloody cold in the winter, and it sucks :P Wouldn't have it any other way, though!_

_Love it? Hate it? Review and let me know!_


	18. A Rose For A Rose

_So, that took waaaaay longer than I thought it would. The onyl excuse I can give is LIFE._

_Go away, life! Stop being such an attention whore!_

_Anyways, here's something that I think is super cute. Enjoy._

* * *

The New Year brought the return of the school year, and soon everyone had returned from their holidays to Hogwarts. Albus and Rose brought back stories of skiing with their entire family, including all of their many cousins. Some of them Pepper knew; older students, all in Gryffindor House, who stopped by to say hello to their younger cousins every now and again. Now, however, whenever they came to say hello, Pepper couldn't get the image of Roxanne Weasley upside down in a snowdrift out of her head, and consequently, she always ended up laughing.

"You certainly know how to make an impression," Albus murmured under his breath to the snickering Pepper as Roxanne and Dominique walked away in a huff. Pepper rolled her eyes and continued on her way to the Great Hall for lunch.

"It's not my intention to try and impress your family," Pepper smiled. "Trust me, when I'm trying to impress them, you'll know." Pepper cast her eyes to Albus's face and was surprised to see a flush of red colouring his cheeks. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing…" he mumbled. "Incidentally, under what circumstances would you care to try and impress my family?"

"Well…" Pepper drew out the word for much longer than she needed to, enjoying the way that Albus's face got even more red. "Oh, gosh, look at the time! Don't want to miss out on lunch, now, do we?" Pepper hurried forward through the doors to the Great Hall, a grin spreading across her face as she left him behind her.

"No fair," Albus growled before taking off after his best friend. He followed Pepper into the Great Hall to their usual seat at the far end of the Gryffindor table, closest to the staff table. Sacha and Cameron had already taken up residence there, ignoring the rules as they always did for lunch and breakfast.

"What isn't?" Sacha drawled from where he sat taking up the space of at least three other people.

"I'll tell you what isn't fair," Cameron spoke up from is seat across the table. "The homework that Flitwick is giving us! We just got back from holidays!"

"It's been a month, Cam," Pepper reminded him.

"Exactly! I need at least two before I get back into the swing of things," Sacha complained. Pepper sighed and pushed Sacha's feet off of the bench so that she could sit down.

"Suck it up, princess." Pepper stole half of the sandwich on Sacha's plate. He glared at her.

"I will take that as a compliment, Pep. Because princesses are widely considered to be beautiful, and you're obviously just jealous of my dashing good looks." Sacha turned his nose up. Pepper glanced over at Albus and laughed.

"Well, I'm certainly not jealous of your brain. How's that essay of Flitwick's coming?" she teased him. "Have you even started it?"

"I wrote some of it! Sacha retorted in indignation. "I wrote… the title down… And my name! That's got to count for something, right?" Pepper clapped her hands mockingly.

"Well done, you!" Pepper laughed. "I'm so glad that nearly two years of magical education hasn't been wasted on you. How about you, Cam?"

"Done," Cameron grimaced. "Finished it last night. I hated every minute of it, but I did it, and I'm proud."

"Nerd," Sacha murmured. He flinched as Cameron kicked him underneath the table. "I suspect you've already done it, Pepper?"

"Ages ago," Pepper said smugly. "I don't want to give Professor Flitwick any excuse to go all Quinlin on me."

"Did you ever figure out why he hates you so much?" Cameron asked. Pepper shook her head.

"No. The guy's just confusing. He doesn't speak to me ever, but when he does he's either complimenting me or insulting me. Or talking about my mom," Pepper grimaced. "Seriously confusing."

"He knew your mom?" Sacha asked. Pepper nodded. "I see it all now! He totally had the hots for your mom, Pep, and now he hopes to recreate that lost love with you!" Sacha sighed dramatically and pretended to swoon. Pepper retched.

"Ugh, no! Again, the guy is old enough to be my father. Drop it, or I'll have Albus drop you," Pepper threatened. Albus clenched his fists under the table but said nothing. Sacha nodded in agreement, still laughing. "First Rose, now you… Where is Rose, anyways?"

"Studying in the library," Albus offered. "She aid not to wait up for her, she' see us in class. I think that she's working on Professor Lumely's Potions assignment."

"Isn't Scorpius her partner for that?" Pepper asked. Albus nodded. "Dear wizard god, I hope the two of them haven't blown up the library yet."

* * *

"Can you hand me that book over there?" Rose asked, glancing up from her parchment to point at a volume across from her on the heavy brass study table. Scorpius was fiddling with something in his lab and looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Pardon?"

Rose sighed. "That book on the properties of Potions ingredients." She pointed at the book that she meant. Scorpius nodded and reached beside him for the thick volume. He handed it over to Rose. As he passed it, their fingers met on the spine of the book and it dropped to the table with a sudden thump.

"Sorry," Scorpius whispered, ducking back from the contact and blushing. His fingers returned to his lap. Rose sighed.

"Don't worry about it," she brushed it off, opening the book while trying to avoid the sudden tingling feeling in her fingers. Scorpius ducked his head and resumed his fiddling. Rose turned to the page on the powdered spine of lionfish and perused the text. Her hands reached for a quill, groping beside her until one was suddenly placed in her hand. She glanced up at Scorpius's shy expression. "Thanks."

"No problem." He turned his fingers down to his lap again. Rose caught a flash of white between his fingers before he pulled them out of her view again. Rose glanced down at the book again. She dipped her quill in the ready well of ink and began writing, the scratch of the nib on paper filling the silence between the two of them. This was the second lunch hour that the two of them had spent working together on this assignment, and they had yet to blow up at each other. Or rather, Rose had yet to blow up on Scorpius. She really was trying to take Pepper's words to heart by not seeking conflict with him. In fact, Rose had come to realize that when they weren't yelling insults at each other, she actually didn't mind his company.

True, Scorpius lacked something in conversation skills. Rose didn't know if he was this shy around everyone or just around her, but he never really spoke unless he was spoken to. Ad even when he did speak, he seemed to measure every word carefully to make sure of what he was saying and the reaction it would receive. He did everything he could to avoid making the same mistakes as his father, Rose realized. He was shy and cautious, not necessarily a coward, a she had first believed.

Rose glanced up from her notes again to stare at him. He had dropped his normally gelled hairstyle from the year before, opting instead to let his pale silvery blonde hair grow out over his eyes. It hung over his face now as he concentrated on the object in his lap. His lips moved silently as he worked, and he had a crease forming between his eyebrows as he concentrated. He really was cute, if Rose was being honest.

Scorpius glanced up from his hands and met Rose's gaze. Now it was her turn to blush. "Are you okay?" Scorpius questioned in his quiet voice.

"Why do we hate each other?" Rose asked suddenly. Scorpius blinked, dropping whatever was in his hands. "We've never really got along before, and yet were doing just fine right now. So why?"

"I don't hate you," Scorpius whispered down into his collar.

"Then why the insults? The arguments?" Rose demanded. Scorpius lifted his pale gray eyes to meet her soft brown ones. His stare was unblinking and for the first time since Rose had known him, he didn't look nervous.

"I don't hate you," he repeated. "I admire you, actually. I think that you're very smart and very brave. I think that you're very pretty," Scorpius blushed again, but he didn't break his stare. "My dad and your dad hate each other. They have ever since their first days at Hogwarts. And before that, their fathers hated each other. I suppose that they intended for us to continue the cycle," Scorpius almost laughed, albeit with rather dark humor.

"So why do we?" Rose wondered. "My dad always used to say vicious things about you and your father. My mom tells him to be quiet and stop prejudicing me, so I never really knew what to believe. And yet when I met you, I just couldn't forget all of that stuff. I know now that it isn't true, so why aren't we friends?"

"I want to be," Scorpius admitted. "I just don't know…"

"You're scared of what you father would say," Rose finished for him.

"What, and you aren't?" Scorpius exclaimed loudly. "I don't believe that, Rose. I'm terrified of what my family would say if they knew the kind of people that I hang out with. We've been purebloods for generations, and well…" Scorpius trailed off after his sudden outburst.

"And I'm not? So, suddenly I'm not good enough for you?" Rose demanded angrily, rising to her feet slowly. "Because my mother is muggleborn and my father is from a family of blood traitors? I thought you were better than that, Scorpius! I thought that you were a better person than your father-"

"I am!" Scorpius yelled, jumping up. He was panting angrily for breath and his hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides. His already white face had paled with frustration. "I am." He repeated, quieter this time. The librarian rounded the corner, pressing a wrinkled finger to her pursed lips.

"This is a library!" she screeched. "Be quiet or get out!" Rose stood obligingly, but Scorpius held out a hand and shook his head to stop her.

"No. You stay and finish. I'll go." His voice was bitter. Rose sat down in her chair unceremoniously with an angry thud. Scorpius stooped the ground, sweeping his book bag over his shoulder with a practiced movement. His hand groped under the table to grab whatever item he had dropped. Rising to his feet, Scorpius cast one last look of conflicting longing and anger down at Rose before placing the object enclosed in his hand down on the table. He turned and walked out of the library, the librarian woman hot on his heels.

Rose sighed, pushing her face into her hands as she leaned forward against the table. She had promised to try and be civil to Scorpius, and she had broken that promise. Maybe they were destined to hate each other, just like their parents before them. Moving her hands up into her hair to push it back from her face, Rose glanced down at the item that Scorpius had left on the table. It was something made of white paper, and Rose examined it curiously for a moment before it dawned on her. Then she lifted her head and stared, perplexed, after where Scorpius had just left.

Folded out of the paper was a rose.

* * *

_Aren't they just just frustratingly adroable and incredibly annoying?_

_Seriously!_

_What will it take to get these two together? I don't even know :P_

_Love it? Hate it? Please, drop me a line!_


	19. Night Terrors

_Yeah, I know, I suck._

_I'm sorry._

_._

* * *

_Cold. She was so cold. The fire in her was gone, extinguished, as if it had never even existed in the first place. In its stead was a deep, throbbing cold that seeped into her bones, chilling her from the inside out. Her entire body was racked with tremors as the cold slowly took her, turning her lips blue and robbing her skin of any colour. She was a zombie, the walking dead. Life meant nothing anymore, not without the fire._

"In our night the darkness hides to extinguish the one that burns…"

_It was so dark, she couldn't see. She stretched ashen gray hands out in front of her, groping in the black darkness for any sign of life, or movement. For anything, really. Just something that assured her that she was not alone. Taking a step forward, her foot met resistance and she crumpled on the ground over top of something. A tiny body with long black waves of hair and violet coloured eyes. Cold, salty tears spilled over her face as se stared down at the lifeless form of her friend._

"Only together, future and past, can we combat what evil yearns_…_"

_A voice cackled out of the darkness, laughing without any mirth as it drew closer and closer. She scrambled back, only to find that she couldn't move. She glanced down at her friend, and those lifeless hands had enclosed around her ankles. Cold, dead skin on her on frigid body had fused together solidly, and she couldn't move. "You see?" The laughter stopped, and a harsh whisper echoed around her just above her head. "Your friend does not want you to leave. Join her in the next life!" A hand clamped down over her face and she fought to scream._

Pepper sat upright with a loud shriek that filled the dormitory. She pressed her hands to her mouth, feeling her lips trembling beneath her fingers as she stared, wide eyed, around the room. Everyone was still sleeping. Pepper sighed, sinking back into her bed with trembling limbs. Her sheets were a sweat soaked and tangled mess around her and on the floor next to her four poster bed. Her scarlet curtains were open, allowing the light of a particularly bright moon to shine in through her window and onto her face, illuminating the darks shadows underneath her eyes.

Pepper trembled in her bed, pulling her sheet sup from the floor to wrap tightly around her. The residual effects of the night terror still gripped her mind, and she was freezing. She could feel the fire burning underneath her skin still, but there was no warmth or comfort to it. She was chilled night through to the bone, and her blankets were of little comfort. She needed fire.

Quietly, Pepper stepped down from her bed, shivering again as her bare toes met the cold stone floor. She slipped silently out of bed, pulling her nightgown close against her as she tentatively walked across the room to the door. The hinges didn't even squeak, mercifully, as she opened the door and exited the room. In the silence surrounding her, her light footsteps echoed slightly around the stone walls of the spiral staircase leading down to the Gryffindor common room.

Her feet were met with warm carpet at the bottom of the stairs, and as she turned into the common room a wash of rosy, flickering light came from the brightly burning fireplace on the far wall. Pepper quickened her pace as she walked towards the fire. She kneeled down in front of the flames, close enough that if she wanted to, she could have reached through the grate and touch the dancing flames within. The heat of the flame flooded over her and Pepper smiled in contentment. She let the heat flood past her defenses and sink into her body, enveloping her in warmth inside and out.

Her chill was gone, but the memories of the night terror still rebounded around in her mind. The remembrance of the cold feeling still shook her with tremors. The deadened, violet eyes of Grape staring back at her. The cold, dead hands locked around her ankle, preventing her from any escape. And that voice, a voce Pepper felt sure that she had heard before in her dreams. The voice that had killed her, or at least was trying to. And, as always, the words of the new prophecy, if that was what it even was, echoing around her endlessly, a constant reminder of what was to come.

She wanted the memories gone. She wanted to erase them from her thoughts. She wanted the fire to burn them out of her mind until she was left with nothing but the good dreams; images of a living Grape, smiling up at her instead of staring accusingly with those dead eyes. Pepper stared into the flames and willed them to shape themselves according to her thoughts. There was a flickering hesitancy, and so Pepper concentrated even harder. Concentration was the key, as Professor Quinlin's book had told her. Concentration and power. And so Pepper concentrated, and she fed even more power into those flames.

With a whoosh, the flames shot up even higher in the grate than they had before. Red and yellow mingled together, warping and twisting in to shapes that came and went. The fire was reckless and volatile; it didn't want to be controlled. Narrowing her eyes, Pepper forced her will on the flames. They still roared high and wild, but twisted round each other until they settled into the shape of a girl, with long hair of darker flame spilling out behind her. The eyes were most haunting; hot, blue flames made an appearance as two flickering lights on the dead girl's face, burning into Pepper's own eyes. "Grape," she whispered, leaning forward into the flame.

Her concentration broke, and the flames tore forward to meet her. Pepper flinched back, throwing herself away from the grate and back onto the carpet. Her head hit the floor with a thump. Pepper stared up above her in a daze, feeling the heat stinging on her face as she struggled to regain composure. It wasn't coming. Her limbs felt weighted; so heavy that she couldn't even bear the thought of moving them. Her mind was clouded and foggy, exhausted and incomprehensible. Dark spots filled her vision, increasing in number and size until the blotted out everything. She couldn't see. The rush of the flames was lost to her, as was the soft feeling of the carpet underneath her as the entire world faded to black.

* * *

_She wasn't a part of the dream, she was simply observing._

_The air around her was thick and heavy, and she moved through it sluggishly in the graying night. The moon shone down from above her, illuminating her surroundings just enough that she could make out the trees that surrounded her. Again, she was in the forest. He paced forward as quickly as she was able, searching for the way out, as she always did in this particular dream. Her eyes raked the forest around, her, searching for any signs of light or life. Something in the distance shifted and caught her attention._

_A girl shivered in front of her, the tremors that wracked her body shaking her loose, brown curls down over the shoulder of her nightgown. She stared around her with the blank horror and unawareness of someone who was blind. "Pepper?" she asked tentatively. "Pepper, I'm right here."_

_Pepper turned curiously towards her, taking a step forward. Then Pepper fell, and stared down with horror at the thing beneath her. She took a step back, and the object that Pepper stared at with such horror came into clearer focus. It was a body. Even worse, her own body. Lying dead and cold on the forest floor, staring at nothing with violet eyes. "No, Pepper, that's not me!" she hurried to explain as she watched tears leak from Pepper's golden eyes. "I'm right here!"_

_Laughter echoed around them, and Pepper scrambled away from the noise. In a flash of movement that she almost missed, her dead self reached out and clamped a hand around Pepper's ankles, fusing their cold skin together so that Pepper could not move. The laughter continued, and she recognized it from her own night terrors. The tormentor had left her for that night, only to torture Pepper with night terrors instead. Which could only mean that Pepper was in danger. "Listen to me, Pepper; you've got to wake up! This is just a dream, wake up!"_

_Pepper still didn't hear her, and in that moment, the tormentor spoke out of the darkness. "You see," it taunted. "Your friend does not want you to leave. Join her in the next life!" Pepper struggled for breath as an invisible force clamped down on her, and she could see Pepper's throat working for a scream. _

"_Pepper, wake up!"_

Grape was back in her bed in the Ravenclaw dormitory, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes. She heard gentle wheezing snores from beside her where Fegan usually perched at night, ever since Pepper had charged hi with watching over her and keeping the night terrors at bay. He'd certainly been doing his job, but now it was Pepper who was at risk. Pepper was the one in danger of the tormentor tonight, and Grape had to try and save her.

Grape slid out of her covers carefully, trying not only not to wake her dorm mates, but not to wake Fegan either. She highly doubted that the phoenix would let her leave if he was under orders from Pepper. The girl and the bird shared a special bond that Grape could never even hope to understand. She did know that they would do anything for each other, and if Pepper asked Fegan to do something, he would do it. No questions asked, although apparently with much eye rolling, if Pepper was to be believed.

Grape walked out of the dormitory, pulling back the silken sapphire blue curtains that served as a door. The stair case was tinted a rosy bronze colour, as opposed to the stark stone walls in the Gryffindor common room. Grape figured it was because Ravenclaw tower had been designed by a woman, and women had better taste in décor than men. The common room was not empty, but everyone in there was at least asleep. Too many of the Ravenclaw students would stay up in the common room studying by firelight until they passed out from exhaustion. They were also the students who earned O's in every subject, but Grape secretly thought that they were crazy.

Grape hurried down the many staircases that led to and from Ravenclaw tower. Time seemed to pass quickly as she ran down the stairs and across the Entrance Hall. She wasn't focused on the time, her only goal was to reach Pepper before the tormentor cold do something, or else influence her into doing something. Wizard god knew, Pepper didn't have the best grasp of her self control. Grape admired Pepper, and loved her as a sister, but at times she could be scary or intimidating, especially with her gift. Their group of friends had long since accepted Pepper's abilities and the prophecy as a part of her, but they still worried when her back was turned.

The Gryffindor tower was as far as it could possibly be from Ravenclaw tower, and Grape found herself resenting that fact as she climbed yet another set of stairs. Her short legs cold only take so much. But she was dong this for Pepper, so we pressed on. Pepper was in danger, she knew it. She just didn't know how she knew it. She had an idea of what the future would bring, but that didn't make her a Seer. Maybe she was just… intuitive?

The Fat Lady – Pepper had described her in great detail to Grape and really, she didn't look all that fat – was slumbering away in her portrait frame in place of the door to the Gryffindor common room. Grape realized that she didn't know the password, which she thought was rather stupid. Every other house had a password except for Ravenclaw. Practically anyone could come marching into their common room if they were intelligent enough to solve the riddle; Pepper had done it. Grape refused to believe Sacha when he bragged that he had answered the riddle all by himself.

"Excuse me?" Grape said loudly, and with a snort, the Fat Lady sprung into awareness. "Could I go in?"

"Password?" the Fat Lady said tiredly. Then her eyes narrowed, and she glared. "What are you doing, waking me up in the middle of the night? You're not even in Gryffindor?"

"I need to get inside," Grape begged. "My friend is in danger."

"How do you know?" The glare never left the Fat Lady's painted face.

"I don't know," Grape said with heavy exasperation. "I just do! Please, let me in."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in without the password," the Fat Lady answered sympathetically, but her expression was smug. Grape turned around angrily. She bit her lip, trying to stop the stream of curse words that wanted to spew from her mouth. She felt her eyes growing warm as she turned back to the Fat Lady.

"Let me in," she growled. The Fat Lady blanched, which was admirable considering she wasn't painted in those colours, and swung open to reveal the scarlet and gold clad common room of the Gryffindors, lit with a blazing fire in the hearth. Grape stepped towards the flames, relishing the heat after running through the cold halls of the school, and stopped. A pair of feet poked out from behind the couch.

"Pepper!" Grape ran forward, kneeling down on the carpet beside her best friend. Pepper's eyes were closed and her face was red with heat. Grape touched a hand to Pepper's skin and pulled it back quickly; Pepper's skin was hot enough to burn someone. Grape stood, running back to where the Fat Lady waited in her portrait. "Can you run up to the Headmistress's office?" Grape demanded. "Pepper Zaniel is unconscious on the floor. I'm going to stay with her until Headmistress McGonagall arrives." Grape was amazed at how calm and assured she could sound, even when she was reeling inside.

"How did you do it?" the Fat Lady murmured.

"Do what? Please hurry!" Grape pleaded.

"Your eyes. They were purple," the Fat Lady frowned, pulling her skirts up above her ankles. "Be right back." The Fat Lady turned to the left and walked out of her portrait, leaving an empty backdrop. She reappeared in the next portrait over, bustling past a group of men playing poker to move on to the next portrait. Grape watched her go for a moment, and then hurried back into the common room.

"It'll be okay, Pepper," Grape whispered, kneeling down beside her friend again. Pepper's eyes quivered behind her lids as if in response to Grape's words. "You'll be okay. I've sent the Fat Lady to get the Headmistress; she'll be able to help you. It'll be okay." Grape reached out her hand again tentatively to brush the hair back off of Pepper's forehead. This time she did not pull away. Pepper's skin was no longer burning hot; quite the opposite. There was chill to the touch of her skin, and in that instance, Grape knew that something was wrong. "It's okay…" Grape's voice was quieter.

"Is it?"

The chilling voice of the tormentor spoke from behind her, and Grape turned with a shriek. Blackness surrounded her, clouding her vision and taking away her senses. The last thing she heard before it all disappeared was: "Welcome, Seer."

* * *

_Yeah, not only do I suck, I'm evil, too :P_

_If it can be found in your hearts to forgive me, perhaps you could help me struggle through my lack of time and get around this particularly horrible case of writer's block?_

_Like seriously. I think my writer's block borders on a medical condition :P_

_Do they have Fanfiction Writer's Therapy?_


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